Sen. Tim Kaine, NBC reporter, among hundreds stuck in massive traffic jam overnight after winter storm paralyzed DC
When a snowstorm hit the Northeastern Corridor on Monday, January 3, some areas received little or no snow while others were hit hard — and in the Washington D.C. area, the winter weather caused a severe traffic jam that kept some people stuck in their cars all night on I-95. One of them was NBC News reporter Josh Lederman.
When Lederman appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” the following morning, host Joe Scarborough noted that Lederman had been “stuck inside of his car for about ten hours” in Northern Virginia. Lederman, reporting from his car on I-95 about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C., told Scarborough and fellow host Mika Brzezinski, “This has been a pretty insane and fairly dystopian experience. I was headed back to D.C. last night; GPS said I’d get back about 5:15. About 7:15, with several delays, it was looking pretty bad on the roads. And by 7:30, we were just at a standstill and have been at a standstill ever since.”
.@JoshNBCNews joins us from his car on I-95, where he has been stuck overnight with his dog as a result of the winter weather.pic.twitter.com/s2nN4uaqp6— Morning Joe (@Morning Joe) 1641294679
Lederman added, “I can see thousands of cars from where I am on the highway on I-95; (they) have been overnight in their cars without food, without water. It’s been 26 degrees outside, and nobody knows how long we’re going to be here or how we’re going to get out…. This is scary.”
Several hours earlier, Lederman had tweeted:
I try not to tweet about daily inconveniences, but this experience has been insane.\n\nFor the last 7+ hours, I've been stuck in my car, not moving, in a total shutdown of I-95 northbound about 30 miles south of DC. (1)— Josh Lederman (@Josh Lederman) 1641278699
There's nothing to do but tweet at this point, so why not a thread.\n\nThe interstate is absolutely littered with disabled vehicles. Not just cars. Semis, everything. Nobody can move. People are running out of gas or abandoning vehicles. (2)— Josh Lederman (@Josh Lederman) 1641278869
For a while, people tried to clear their stuck cars my shoveling with their feet. Most quickly gave up. But, then what? There is zero possibility for any tow truck to get to you right now in the thousands of cars backed up. (4)— Josh Lederman (@Josh Lederman) 1641279094
The National Desk reported:
Emergency responders are working to get to drivers stranded overnight on I-95 in Virginia after the region was slammed with heavy snow. The latest this morning from the @TND Live Desk: pic.twitter.com/S2y3FhjXus— Cayle Thompson (@Cayle Thompson) 1641298490
Here's more of my @TND interview with Emily Slaughter, a truck driver stranded on I-95 after the road became impassible because of snow & wrecks. She says many truckers prepare for these situations and can often help nearby drivers in need of food, water or a cell phone charge.pic.twitter.com/kk8iVqVcf7— Cayle Thompson (@Cayle Thompson) 1641299218
Sen. Tim Kaine also appears to be stuck in the traffic jam.
I started my normal 2 hour drive to DC at 1pm yesterday. 19 hours later, I\u2019m still not near the Capitol. My office is in touch with @VaDOT to see how we can help other Virginians in this situation. Please stay safe everyone.pic.twitter.com/Sz1b1hZJZ5— Tim Kaine (@Tim Kaine) 1641302863
