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Western Maryland Deals With Treacherous Roads; 1 Killed In Frederick Co. Crash

EMMITSBURG, Md. (WJZ) -- In Western Maryland, the snow started accumulating very quickly.

Alex DeMetrick has more.

The story in this part of the state is treacherous roads.

Just below the Maryland/Pennsylvania line in Frederick County, one person was killed on Rt. 140 when a car slipped over the center line and collided head-on with a tractor-trailer. The impact ejected the driver, 66-year-old Samuel Lewis, from the car. Weather was a factor.

"This was specifically related, I believe, to the weather conditions and the operator of the vehicle [was] probably driving too fast for the conditions and losing traction," said Todd May, Maryland State Police.

Whether it was on I-70 or smaller routes, road crews in Frederick and Carroll counties worked to clear travel lanes. But, with thousands of miles to cover, plows couldn't be everywhere.

But then, drivers didn't always make it any easier.

"You got people that see the road like it is right now, they try to hammer it and they lose it," said one man.

But if getting around posed challenges earlier, it could become more difficult as the storm passes.

"The wind, it usually gives us a fit with drifting and the forecast is calling for 20, 25 mile an hour wind gusts," said Bruce Lockard, Carroll County Roads.

For drivers in the western part of the state, there's a warning and a request.

"We're urging people to stay off the roadways unless it's absolutely necessary or an emergency. The roads still, primarily the secondary roads, are very treacherous, very slick," May said.

State police say they are astounded by the volume of traffic. All the schools and many businesses are closed and there were a lot of people on the roads. If you do have to drive, be careful and go slowly.

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