Crime & Safety
Piles of Snow Meant Heaps of Trouble for Police
Police, tow trucks hopping after Friday's storm
Strongsville police answered more than 30 weather-related calls between 7 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Friday after a winter storm dumped a foot of snow on the region.
Most involved motorists who were stuck in the snow or had slid off the road.
The ramp leading from I-71 proved to be a trouble spot at 7 a.m. when a vehicle could not climb it, getting stuck and blocking access for other vehicles. Officers couldn't get to the car right away because southbound I-71 traffic was backed up as far as the turnpike exit.
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Police found six vehicles stranded on the ramp. Shortly before 9 a.m., police closed the I-71 southbound ramp leading to Royalton Road west and asked the city's Service Department to help the Ohio Department of Transportation plow it.
The ramp was reopened about 9:40 a.m.
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Meanwhile, tow trucks and police were busy with dozens of vehicles stuck in the road or sliding into ditches -- and each other. Officers and passersby helped push a car that was stuck on Pearl Road in front of . Vehicles slipped into ditches on Howe and Webster roads.
A mail truck got stuck at Bradford Court and Echo Point. Cars spun out on I-71 throughout the morning, with one getting stuck in a snowbank near the turnpike.
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