FARGO – Freezing rain created extremely icy conditions Saturday in Fargo-Moorhead and surrounding areas.
Local law enforcement saw dozens of accidents between midnight and about 10 a.m. Saturday.
Fargo police responded to about 50 accidents because of slick conditions, said Sgt. Mark Lykken. Most crashes occurred at slow speeds, and Lykken said he was unaware of any injuries.
Moorhead police responded to 12 accidents, including assisting the Minnesota State Patrol when a semi-truck jack-knifed due to icy conditions on Interstate 94, near the 34th Street exit.
The Minnesota State Patrol also responded to a number of injury accidents. Slick conditions sent a snow plow sliding into a ditch Saturday morning near Wheaton, Minn.
Dan Seifert, 42, of Graceville, sustained minor injuries when the truck he was driving slid off the road and rolled on its side. He was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a release from the Minnesota State Patrol.
Wheaton is about 80 miles south of Moorhead on Highway 75.
A rollover on I-94 near Alexandria, Minn., also caused minor injuries, according to the state patrol.
The accident was reported at about 7 a.m. about 5 miles east of Alexandria.
The condition of the driver, Umar Bekiri, of Belleville, Ill., is unknown, according to a release from the state patrol.
Road conditions improved around Fargo by the afternoon, North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper Dennis Gilbertson said, but roads were still icy and wet in some places. All told, the North Dakota Highway Patrol reported eight accidents in the Fargo area.
“The bottom line is the motoring public has to use some common sense,” Gilbertson said.
When road conditions are icy, he advised drivers to slow down, turn on headlights and turn off cruise control.
