Monday, February 2, 2015

FEMALE PASSENGER DIES AFTER HIGHWAY 92 HEAD-ON COLLISION NORTHEAST OF WAHOO, NEBRASKA. DRIFTING SNOW HAD NARROWED THE HIGHWAY TO ONE LANE.



 


 

FEMALE PASSENGER DIES AFTER HIGHWAY 92 HEAD-ON COLLISION NORTHEAST OF WAHOO, NEBRASKA.  DRIFTING SNOW HAD NARROWED THE HIGHWAY TO ONE LANE.


Sunday, February 1, 2015

WAHOO, NEBRASKA:
 
One woman has died because of a weather-related accident in Saunders County.
Kathleen Schulzkump, 62, of West Point died Sunday at the Saunders County Medical Center.

At 12:48 p.m., two cars collided on Highway 92 between County Roads 13 and 14 northeast of Wahoo, according to the Saunders County Sheriff’s Office.
Tony Grabowski of Wahoo was in a 1994 Chevy Suburban westbound on Highway 92.

Wesley Schulzkump of West Point was traveling east on the highway in a 2002 Chrysler Cruiser, and Kathleen Schulzkump was a front seat passenger.
The highway was narrowed to one lane because of drifting snow, and the two vehicles collided.

Wahoo Fire and Rescue performed CPR on Kathleen Schulzkump at the scene of the collision. She later died at the medical center, Saunders County officials said.

Grabowski and Wesley Schulzkump were taken to the medical center with minor injuries.


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SAUNDERS COUNTY, Neb. —Anyone who lives in Wahoo could testify that the drifting snow was a trouble for those on the road Sunday.

"There's nothing you can do until the wind stops," said Drake Steinmetz, of Wahoo.

The Saunders County Sheriff's Office said high drifts and blowing snow blocked the view of drivers who collided head-on just east of Wahoo on Highway 92.
Kathleen Schulzkump, from West Point, was killed in the crash.

"It's been crazy," Robbie Wilson said. "I mean, I'm from Wahoo, so I have seen it before, but I just haven't seen it this year. It's just kind of different."
What makes the rural highways so deadly is that the wind is always blowing snow across the road, regardless of how many plows come down them.

The interstate wasn't any safer. An Illinois man died in a multi-car crash on I-80 that closed the highway for a few hours. The accident happened between the Waverly and Highway 77 exits. KETV NewsWatch 7 was told it started when a semi-trailer stalled and another semi-trailer slammed into it.

The sad news prompted many people to not drive, at least out of town.
"I'm staying right here," Steinmetz said..
"Hopefully everyone makes it home safe," Wilson said.

Black ice will be the biggest problem overnight. There's not a product out there that can effectively melt it when it gets this cold. The general advice is to stay home.