There were three motor vehicle deaths across North Carolina this weekend as heavy snowfalls covered the state's roadways and made driving conditions hazardous.
The N.C. State Highway Patrol said winter weather conditions contributed to all three crashes, which happened Saturday evening in Rutherford County, early Sunday morning in Robeson County and Sunday evening in Cherokee County.
Gov. Josh Stein mentioned that there had been three deaths Tuesday during a meeting of the Council of State, saying, "Our hearts go out to those family members who are dealing with that loss."
Over the past two weeks, Stein said, N.C. Department of Transportation crews have spread 100,000 tons of salt across the state's roads and pre-treated them with more than 10 million gallons of brine, with estimates that another 20,000 tons of salt will be put down early this week.
Speaking to reporters after the Council of State, Stein said many North Carolinians heeded the warnings he and other leaders sounded ahead of last weekend's storm to avoid unnecessary driving.
"I'm actually really gratified that most North Carolinians took heed of our request, which was to not travel unless necessary. Look, there's some times when people need to get from A to B — I mean, there's are reasons that force people to travel, even in bad circumstances," Stein said.
Here's what Highway Patrol reported happened in the fatal accidents, according to First Sergeant Christopher Knox.
The Rutherford County accident happened at about 7:40 p.m. on U.S. 74 eastbound, near the Ellenboro exit. Brandon Atkins, 55, of Forest City was driving a Chevrolet pickup and did not notice a motor grader that was removing snow and driving partially in the right-hand lane, according to Highway Patrol.
Atkins struck the back of the grader and died on the scene. There were three other people in the pickup truck who suffered what the Highway Patrol called "serious but non-life-threatening injuries."
In Robeson County, Jose Adolfo Urbina Rivera, 64, of Hampton, VA, was driving southbound on I-95 around 12:29 a.m. when he crashed. Rivera's vehicle left the roadway near the 23-mile marker, according to Highway Patrol, before flipping and becoming submerged in a ditch.
Highway Patrol reported that "there was a significant amount of snow falling" at the time of the crash, with a significant amount having already accumulated on the road. Troopers also said Rivera was driving the vehicle faster than he should have, considering the conditions.
That was similar to the fatal accident in Cherokee County, which happened around 7 p.m. Sunday on N.C. 294 near the Tennessee state line.
Robert Edward Walker, 57, of Murphy was driving on what Highway Patrol described as a snow-covered road when it left the road and flipped, landing in a creek. Like in the Robeson County accident, Highway Patrol concluded that Walker had been driving faster than he should have been.
Stein also quibbled with some reports that had characterized a traffic snarl on I-85 near Kannapolis as a "pile up." The slow-down happened after a small accident Saturday afternoon on Interstate 85 north near Kannapolis.
Cars and trucks stopped to avoid the wreck, but then the snow-covered roads prevented dozens of tractor-trailers from gaining the traction they needed to get going again, leaving them trapped on the road.
"That wasn't a pile-up. The cars had not collided with each other. It's just, they got stuck and couldn't move forward," Stein said, also offering praise to the N.C. National Guard and Highway Patrol for alleviating it in less than three hours.
