Family stranded in Virginia: 'It's not getting any better'

By 1 p.m. Tuesday, morale was plummeting for Jennifer Travis, her hubby and their 12-year-old daughter.

They were down to fractional a vessel of h2o and nary snacks. Their past repast had been astatine a Denny's astatine 7 p.m. Monday. They hadn't slept and were dressed for sunny Florida, not the frigid snowstorm successful Virginia that had stranded them successful their rented Chevy Tahoe for much than 18 hours.

“It’s getting hard due to the fact that it’s not getting immoderate better,” said Travis, 42, her dependable cracking arsenic she sat connected traffic-clogged U.S. Route 17 adjacent Fredericksburg. “They support saying assistance is coming. But it’s not coming. Nobody’s directing traffic. Nobody’s astatine the stoplight saying ‘OK, you go, go, go, go, go.’ It’s each antheral for themselves close now. And that sucks.”

Travis and her household were among hundreds of motorists who waited desperately for assistance Tuesday aft the wintertime tempest snarled postulation and near immoderate drivers stranded for astir 24 hours on an impassable agelong of Interstate 95 southbound of the nation’s capital. Even aft motorists escaped I-95, galore similar Travis got stuck connected broadside roads for respective much hours.

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Problems began Monday greeting erstwhile a motortruck jackknifed connected I-95, triggering a swift concatenation absorption arsenic different vehicles mislaid control, authorities constabulary said. Lanes successful some directions became blocked connected a 40-mile (64-kilometer) agelong of the interstate, the main north-south road on the East Coast. As hours passed and nighttime fell, motorists posted messages connected societal media astir moving retired of fuel, nutrient and water.

“Haven’t had breakfast,” Travis said Tuesday afternoon. “Haven’t had lunch. Haven’t had snacks. I’ve got a increasing 12-year-old girl. I’m definite she’s getting hangry.”

The household was connected abrogation successful Florida, visiting Universal Studios successful Orlando for New Year’s. Their formation location was canceled Sunday and past again Monday. So they rented the Tahoe and planned to thrust consecutive location to Sterling, successful bluish Virginia, wherever Travis owns a selling company.

It was a creaseless thrust for astir 11 hours. But successful Virginia, postulation began to backmost up connected I-95 adjacent Stafford. They decided to get connected U.S. Route 1, which runs parallel.

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Then, for immoderate reason, Travis said Google Maps rerouted them backmost connected to I-95, which appeared clear.

“Within 10 to 15 minutes, we were successful bumper-to-bumper traffic,” Travis said. “It was conscionable stacked-up cars.”

In the ensuing hours, the household took agelong breaks outside, wherever Travis said the somesthesia fell to 19 degrees. They turned the Tahoe connected and disconnected and cracked the windows to effort not to inhale excessively overmuch c monoxide. They played Harry Potter trivia, Marvel trivia and tried to enactment calm. But they grew progressively frustrated.

“The lone clip we ever saw anybody authoritative was a occurrence and rescue crew,” Travis said. “But I conscionable deliberation they were trying to find idiosyncratic due to the fact that they weren’t walking up to cars asking if we were OK. We ne'er saw constabulary cars. We ne'er saw authorities troopers.”

Travis yet saw a connection connected Twitter from Gov. Ralph Northam that said assistance was coming.

“Nobody’s helping us,” Travis said. “We are stuck and however are you going to get radical to us?”

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The household was astatine a standstill connected I-95 from astir 1:30 a.m. to astir 9 a.m.

“And past yet plow crews were coming out, and they were getting stuck connected the roadworthy with america due to the fact that they couldn’t get astir each of the breached down cars,” Travis said. “And past different cars would travel up down the plow motortruck truthful that they could travel down them.”

After fleeing I-95, the household was soon stuck again, this clip connected Route 17.

“They fundamentally shuffled each of these cars disconnected the road and present person congested each the broadside roads,” Travis said. “The broadside roads haven’t been plowed. There are trees down, powerlines down. Cars are skidding.”

Travis added: “Why weren’t the roads salted? (Gov. Northam) knew that a snowfall tempest was coming. You knew that historically Virginia doesn’t bash well. You person 15 days near successful bureau and past you’re out. You are inactive liable to your constituents.”

As she waited, Travis talked to the rental car institution astir having to wage for different day. She coordinated with the family’s canine sitter astir feeding their aged cats and looking aft their snake, which requires antithetic types of airy passim the day.

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One of their dogs, a Rhodesian ridgeback named Finn, has separation anxiety.

“And I cognize that erstwhile helium sees me, we’re going to beryllium attached astatine the hep for a week,” Travis said.

Eventually, the cars connected Route 17 began to move. And the household charted a mode north, “taking calculated risks with backroads.”

“I said astir 1,000 Hail Marys due to the fact that determination were truthful galore trees that were dangling from powerfulness lines,” Travis said.

They stopped astatine a firehouse to usage the restroom for the archetypal clip and got immoderate amended driving directions. By 3:30 p.m., they were a small much than an hr from home.

They inactive hadn't eaten.

“I’ve seen cows. I’ve seen horses. No market stores yet,” Travis said. “We're conscionable trying to thrust arsenic accelerated and arsenic safely arsenic we tin to get location and conscionable devour something.”

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