KPTV - FOX 12Icy roads cause problems for drivers

Icy roads cause problems for drivers

It was a slippery, icy commute for drivers all across the area as below-freezing temps caused many roads to turn into slick ice-rinks this morning. Temps started off in the 20's in many spots - cold enough for dangerous black ice to form on the roadways.

There were multiple car accidents throughout the area.

An Oregon City school bus collided into another car as it was pulling into the driveway of a bus barn. Fortunately, it was a low-speed crash, and there were no students on board. The driver was not injured.

But kids were involved with a crash on Highway 217, where the collision temporarily closed a southbound lane of the highway.

Just a bit to the west, there was a rollover crash on Elwert Road in Sherwood.

To the south in Wilsonville at Grahams Ferry and Wheatland roads, a car snapped a power pole in two.

Again, icy roads could be to blame.

Some of the slickest spots are freeway on-ramps, as evidenced by a crash onto I-84.

All the wrecks today had tow truck drivers on alert. A dispatch center in Southeast Portland tells FOX 12 that the city has a rotation system between different towing companies so that they can get to stranded drivers as soon as possible.

"Yes we do get busier during the ice like we had this morning and frost if people don't pay attention. So this time of year it can be extremely busy. We see a peak this time, and when it gets really hot in the summer," Mike Porter with Speeds Towing said.

There's the potential for another round of slick roads tomorrow morning, so ODOT would like to remind drivers to expect a slow commute and be extra careful of icy conditions.

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