Several crashes reported in Fargo area

Fargo, North Dakota – On December 30, 2023, early in the morning, freezing rain fell in the Fargo region. The roads were icy due to this rain. Within around one hour of one another, there were six crashes.

Between the Kindred and Mapleton exits on westbound Interstate 94, there was one of these collisions. Due to a semi-truck losing control on the icy roadways, it went into the median, flipped, and blocked both of the I-94 westbound lanes. While emergency personnel removed the involved semi, westbound I-94 was closed for about two hours and traffic was diverted at the Kindred exit. The driver in question was not seriously injured.

Another collision on Interstate 29 north of Fargo close to Grandin left two semi-trucks with jackknives in the ditch across from each other and in the median. For almost fifteen minutes, traffic heading north on Interstate 29 was halted at Grandin while these semi-trucks were being removed.

Drivers who drove too quickly for the conditions of the road lost control of their cars and collided with other cars in several additional collisions. The drivers involved in two of these collisions had non-life-threatening injuries. These crashes caused traffic to back up in several places across the Fargo metro region.

Using this opportunity, the North Dakota Highway Patrol would like to encourage drivers to check the state of the roads before leaving. Reduce your speed and increase the following space between vehicles in bad weather. Please stay in your car if you end up in the median or ditch. Avoid driving while there are bad road conditions whenever you can. If you must travel, make sure you have an emergency travel kit and schedule additional time for driving.

In addition, keep in mind that a 75 mph speed limit sign does not mean that you should drive at that speed. Instead, you should slow down and arrive at your destination a few minutes later to prevent accidents and property damage caused by sleet, snow, and ice.