NEW YORK (WKBW) — This weekend's lake effect storm dumped more than four feet of snow across Western New York.
Several cars and trucks were stuck on the New York State Thruway near the Ripley exit on Friday, unable to move for hours.
7 News anchor Michael Wooten posted a video of the scene on Facebook and Twitter, where it was viewed more than 1.6 million times.
Many of you voiced questions and concerns in the comments like:
- "There were ample advanced warnings. Why would you put yourself, your family and others at risk?"
- "Why wasn't the thruway closed? They knew the storm was coming."
- "The question is why are they leaving people stranded?"
So, here's what we've learned based on conversations with sources in New York and Pennsylvania:
- It all started near Erie, Pennsylvania.
- Without warning, PennDOT closed the I-90 from the state line to the west of Erie.
- New York Thruway Authority crews diverted westbound traffic to the last exit at Ripley.
- A tractor-trailer then jackknifed at the exit.
- So, the thruway closed to all westbound traffic back to the Dunkirk exit, pushing everyone to Route 5 and 20.
- The closure later extended to the Hamburg exit.
- Sources in both states said Pennsylvania didn't give New York any notice before closing the I-90.
You can follow along for the latest updates on road closures and event cancellations online here.