By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
It didn’t snow Tuesday, but freezing rain turned into ice on roads and caused multiple accidents in Rowan and surrounding counties.
Emergency services officials reported a high volume of calls from motorists who witnessed or were involved in accidents on Interstate 85 and other heavily traveled roads such as Jake Alexander Boulevard, Julian and Peach Orchard.
Between early Tuesday and about 3:30 p.m., 28 traffic accidents had been reported to the Rowan County Emergency Communications Center.
Of those, Director Rob Robinson said, 20 accidents happened in just a couple of hours.
“In a normal day, we may have about three in what I call that rush-hour period. And some days we have none,” Robinson said.
The total call volume was at a high Tuesday. Between midnight Monday and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, the E-911 center received 227 calls.
“The average in a 24-hour period is between 375 and 450,” Robinson said.
One wreck involved a motorist and a Sheriff’s Office vehicle.
The Salisbury Fire Department responded to three accidents with minor injuries on Old Concord Road, Innes Street and just north of Innes Street.
Chris Kepley, the department’s public information officer, said firefighters ran into numerous calls around 8 a.m.
“At least one car overturned onto its side, but there were no significant injuries,” she said.
Some people were taken to the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening, Kepley said.
She reminded motorists to drive carefully and be aware of black ice on the roads.
Around noon, the N.C. Highway Patrol reported 360 accidents in a 10-county area. Specific accounts of the Rowan County wrecks were not available. According to a dispatcher, the accident reports had not been turned in yet.
The National Weather Service said a little more rain could come Tuesday night, with sunny skies today and temperatures in the mid-40s later in the week.
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Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.