The third crash took out power lines. The second one happened right behind crews responding to the first crash.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — As winter weather hit the Charlotte area Friday, first responders asked people who needed to drive to be careful on the road after a trio of crashes shut down a roadway.
The Huntersville Fire Department said a serious crash unfolded along Beatties Ford Road near Sample Road around 5:20 p.m. A few minutes later, the department said a patient was pinned.
Crews also said while they were responding to the initial scene, a second crash happened behind their fire truck. The department asked drivers to avoid the area and said Beatties Ford Road was very slick. Drivers were asked to use caution and yield to responding units as well.
The department later confirmed the patient who was pinned in was freed and taken to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
But just minutes later, Huntersville Fire said a third crash unfolded nearby, taking down power lines with it. The department chose to close down a stretch of Beatties Ford Road between McCoy Road and Hambright Road. Firefighters asked drivers to seek an alternate route.
Friday’s wintry weather saw snow, sleet, and ice blanket the Charlotte metro. Officials in cities and counties across the area urged caution and for people who didn’t need to go anywhere to stay home and avoid roadways. That included the York County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, which shared photos of two cars that slid off of a road and into nearby ditches near the town of McConnells.
Deputies said both drivers were okay, but echoed the warning to neighbors to stay off the road until the storm was over.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a statewide state of emergency ahead of the storm. WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich urged neighbors to get home or off the roads by 5 p.m.
“We want you to be where you’re going to be by 5 o’clock,” Panovich said. “Two reasons, that’s when the temperature is really going to drop as the sun goes down and the ebbs and flows of snow pick up by 5 or 6 p.m.”Â
It’s the first measurable snow in Charlotte in nearly three years and would mark the end of the longest snow drought in Charlotte’s history. The last time Charlotte had accumulating snow was January 2022 (Over 1,076 days ago). Some snow fell on Dec. 3, but there was no measurable snowfall in the city.
