Amtrak train finally on the move after 32hr journey with 15hrs trapped

Amtrak train is finally on the move again after 32 hour journey which saw it spend 15 hours trapped in snow in Virginia with 200 aboard: Passengers share their relief after being stuck without food or working toilets

• Hundreds of passengers aboard two Amtrak trains got stuck for more than 30 hours overnight on Monday after the snow storm on Friday brought trees down on the tracks in Virginia 
• Passengers said Amtrak ‘dropped the ball’ as they were left with blocked toilets, no food and little to no answers as they waited, sometimes in the cold 
• Amtrak said the train – the Crescent 20 – continued at 5pm ET, once the tracks were cleared. It cancelled several rides traveling through the northeast due to the snow conditions
• It comes as hundreds of motorists experienced their own grueling delay of more than 27 hours along the Interstate 95 through Virginia
• The road was not cleared until 5pm ET, when the Virginia department of transport tweeted that all the cars had been cleared off the road 
• Snowstorm Frida on Sunday and Monday piled up to 11 inches of snow on the Northeast coast of the country and its effects were still being felt on Tuesday
• Kamala Harris was strongly criticized for tweeting on Tuesday that ‘America is moving again. That’s what infrastructure is all about: getting people moving’ 

Travelers across the United States were stranded in miserable circumstances on Tuesday, as the country’s transportation infrastructure ground to a halt following a winter storm on Sunday, and amid staff shortages due to COVID-19.

Airlines cancelled 3,723 flights on Tuesday, according to Flight Aware, with Washington DC’s two airports – Reagan and Baltimore/Washington International – worst affected. 

Delays and cancellations have plagued air travel since Christmas, with the pandemic and weather being blamed, and the misery showing no signs of abating. 

A train from New Orleans to New York City, the Amtrak Crescent 20, was finally on the move at 5pm ET, after being stranded for 15 hours at Lynchburg, Virginia, due to downed trees. 

Kamala Harris, the vice president, angered many by tweeting enthusiastically about the Biden administration getting America ‘moving’ – despite thousands being stuck.

‘Because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, America is moving again,’ she said, in a tweet which struck many as tone deaf.

‘That’s what infrastructure is all about: getting people moving.’ 

Snow storm Frida trapped hundreds trapped along Virginia’s I-95 on Tuesday, and hundreds more were left stranded inside Amtrak trains for more than 30 hours with blocked toilets and no food. 

It was not until Tuesday evening, at 5:15pm ET, that the Virginia department of transport said the road had finally been cleared.

At 3:14pm they tweeted: ‘We’re making significant headway to remove disabled vehicles, & tractor trailers from I-95 then plow trains will come through to remove snow and ice. 

‘I-95 NB still closed between exit 104/Rt. 207 in Caroline to PW. 

‘I-95 southbound is closed at exit 152 to exit 136/Centreport Pkwy.’

At 5:15pm, the agency updated travelers that the road had been cleared.

‘UPDATE: There are no people stranded still on I-95. 

‘Less than 20 vehicles left to be removed from the interstate before plow trains will come through to remove snow and ice from the travel lanes.’ 

Meanwhile, the trains remained snarled until Tuesday evening.

Amtrak’s Crescent, which left New Orleans on Sunday on its way to New York got stuck near Lynchburg, Virginia on Monday morning and remained there Tuesday until 5pm ET. 

Officials said downed trees due to the snow storm blocked the tracks, but could not explain why they were unaware of the problem until the train arrived at the site of the blockage.

On Tuesday morning, passengers still aboard the train told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they were without food, functioning toilets and information from the railroad as to what happens next.

‘All we’ve been told is there are trees on the tracks preventing us from moving forward,’ passenger Sean Thornton said Tuesday. 

‘Nobody has eaten for about 20 hours and the toilets in coach are completely backed up. The snack bar sold out of food yesterday. Passengers have been banned from leaving the train.’

Lavita Booker (left) said she and about 200 other passengers aboard the Amtrak Crescent were stuck for more than 30 hours in Lynchburg, Virginia 

Snow storm Frida knocked down trees on top of railways in Virginia on Monday, causing Amtrak trains to stall, some for up to 30 hours 

Booker (right) was able to exit the train for a while as it remained suspended

Amtrak said the trains would resume once the tracks have been cleared up

Amtrak says the train will complete its trip to New York, which was scheduled to end on Monday, on Tuesday evening, now the tracks are finally clear.

‘Our staff is working to make sure food and water is available for customers,’ spokesperson Kimberly Woods wrote in an email.

Amtrak told WSET-TV that passengers could leave the train while it was blocked.

A separate train bound from Roanoke, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., got stuck on the same tracks, said Tamera Ferguson of Lynchburg. 

She said her son spent 14 hours on the train before it returned to Lynchburg after 1am on Tuesday. She said the railroad didn’t offer stranded passengers other transportation or hotels.

Other passengers also expressed their frustration on social media as they continue to wait for their ride to resume. 

On Facebook, passenger Lavita Booker said Amtrak simply dropped the ball and failed her and the other passengers aboard the Crescent. 

‘There’s over 200 and some people on this train. We are stuck. We’ve been stuck for 22 hours. This is totally ridiculous.’ 

Twitter user Annie Catheriner, who was on the ride to New York City’s Penn station, had been trapped on the train more more than 24 hours. 

‘There is no electricity, food or water and now one is here,’ Catheriner wrote. 

Riders aboard the two delayed trains expressed their frustration on Twitter

Jon Tenney, another Twitter user stuck on the same train also complained about a lack of essential services. 

‘All of the conductors have left. The doors are open. No heat. We ran out of food 8 hours ago and the toilets are no longer working,’ Tenney wrote. 

Another Twitter user with the handle name KaiChelena tweeted, ‘I’ve been in this godd*mn Amtrak station since 11:50 am and with the amount in time I’ve been in here someone could’ve drove me up to Philly and I would’ve been home by now. 

Twitter user Jon Leo said he was stranded in Lynchburg for 30 hours and hoped for an end to the madness. 

‘The crew has been doing the best they can, but even they aren’t getting effective updates.’ 

At 4:52pm on Tuesday, Leo confirmed the train was at long last on its way.

Almost an hour later, he tweeted: ‘Just left Charlottesville, VA. We movin!’ 

Sunday and Monday’s snowstorm – part of Winter Storm Frida – dumped over a foot of snow in parts of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey.

Frida also blanketed much of Middle and East Tennessee into northern Alabama with as much as six inches of snow just after record warmth rang in the new year. 

The storm left Amtrak trains suspended and shut down multiple trips through the northeast

The terrible storm also caused similar delays along the I-95 in Virginia 

The Daily Progress of Charlottesville reported a train southbound from Charlottesville to Lynchburg had also been delayed due to downed trees, while Amtrak reported that its New York-bound Silver Star train, which left Miami, remained stopped at Richmond on Tuesday morning because of downed trees.

A number of New York-New Orleans Crescents departing on Tuesday and later days have been canceled. 

Amtrak also canceled both directions of the Piedmont, which runs between Raleigh, and Charlotte in North Carolina on Tuesday, as well the northbound Palmetto from Savannah, Georgia, to New York, and the northbound Auto Train, which operates from Sanford, Florida, to Lorton, Virginia.

The company also said it is operating ‘modified’ service on some other routes on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston and on other trains south of Washington. 

‘Kamala strikes again’: VP is slammed for tweet claiming ‘America is moving again’ while hundreds – including Democrat Senator Tim Kaine – had just entered their 27th hour stranded on I-95 in Virginia without gas or water 

The vice president is now getting slammed for tweeting that ‘America is moving again’ while hundreds – including Virginia State Senator Tim Kane – were entering their 27th hour stranded on I-95 in Virginia without gas, food and water.

One infuriated user called on Kamala Harris to fire her social media team. ‘They are clearly not agile enough to consider major headlines before posting something that makes you look foolish,’ they wrote.

Harris tweeted Tuesday around noon: ‘Because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, America is moving again. That’s what infrastructure is all about: getting people moving.’ 

Her post referenced the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which ‘will rebuild Tribal roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water for Native communities, ensure every Native American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in Tribal communities that have too often been left behind,’ according to the White House.

But many found it insensitive to the travelers who had endured more than a day stuck in their car without the help of Virginia’s National Guard. Vehicles seemingly didn’t move until the snow and ice began to melt Tuesday afternoon when temperatures climbed into the mid-30s.

‘Why, why oh why would anyone think this tweet is a good idea at the same time I-95 is trending for a 12 hour+ 30-50 mile standstill? Are you guys *trying* to write GOP midterm attack ads for them?’ one person said in response to Harris.

Another tweeted: ‘There are people stuck in I-95, Kamala aint s*** moving,’ while another added: ‘I-95 would like a word.’  

Senator Kaine, one of the hundreds of travelers stuck along the backed-up interstate, said in a tweet early Tuesday that read: ‘I started my normal 2 hour drive to DC at 1pm yesterday. 19 hours later, I’m still not near the Capitol.’ 

He later reassured: ‘I’m frustrated, but not in serious trouble.’

But as of Tuesday afternoon, Kaine was freed from the spot he had been stuck in for a total of 27 hours without food or drink. He told CNN that the last time he had a beverage was when he had a Dr Pepper at 4am when he stopped for gas before getting on the I-95.

Once he arrived at the Capitol, he said he was rushing straight to the bathroom and looking forward to eating a big meal. 

And thankfully, the senator had 150 miles in his tank and only 40 miles left to his destination as the road began to clear up.   

The snowy pile-up between Dumfries Road, which is nearly an hour to Washington, DC, and Carmel Church, only 8mi from the Capitol, began after a six-vehicle crash in Stafford

A day after the crash, people are now wondering if governor-elect Glenn Youngkin could be sworn into office before he was originally scheduled to on January 15

People on Twitter called Northam an ’embarrassment of a governor’ and a ‘fool’ for not sending out the National Guard to help drivers who have been stranded in their cars without food or water for nearly 24 hours

A fire engine rested on the side of the road after sliding off in Tuesday’s icy conditions

A horse was seen being walked down the interstate as emergency vehicles struggled to navigate through the backed-up cars

People, including former VP candidate and Virginia State Senator Tim Kaine, grew worried as they approached nearly a full 24 hours stuck in their car without food and water

The snowy pile-up between Dumfries Road, which is nearly an hour to Washington, DC, and Carmel Church, only 8mi from the Capitol, began after a six-vehicle crash in Stafford Monday. For more than a day following, the 50-mile stretch of highway south of DC was blanketed in nearly a foot of snow and ice as temperatures dipped to the teens overnight. 

The road became impassable when six tractor-trailers jackknifed in the winter storm and triggered a chain reaction Monday as other vehicles lost control and blocked lanes in both directions of I-95. Cars didn’t begin to move freely down the interstate until late Tuesday afternoon.

People wondered if governor-elect Glenn Youngkin could be sworn into office before he was originally scheduled to on January 15 as they call Northam an ’embarrassment of a governor’ and a ‘fool’ for not sending out the National Guard to help drivers who have been stranded in their cars without food or water for nearly 24 hours.

‘Youngkin hasn’t been sworn in yet. Come back in about ten days and if those people are still stranded I bet he’ll do something about it,’ one person tweeted after Northam seemingly went missing after a single tweet about deploying state and local emergency personnel posted at 8.17am.   

It wasn’t until around noon on Tuesday that the temperature reached above freezing and the icy conditions began to melt away. However, hundreds of travelers were still in urgent need of emergency personnel. 

‘We have to find a way to get national guard here. Diabetics and babies down here. People are going die here,’ a friend told NBC’s Joe Scarborough, who tweeted the quote in a plea to get people rescued faster. 

Jim DeFede, who had been stuck on the interstate just south of Quantico for 24 hours, called I-95 ‘a complete parking lot’ Tuesday morning and was growing angry as his woes weren’t answered and emergency personnel weren’t coming to his rescue.

‘I don’t know who’s in charge but somebody better do something because there are cars and families just trapped here this entire time and nobody seems to be coming. I haven’t seen a state trooper in at least 12 hours. I haven’t seen a tow truck in at least 14 hours,’ DeFede said in a video posted to Twitter.  

Four hours later he said: ‘I’m free – sort of. Prince William Fire Rescue guided the cars and trucks back to an newly opened exit and then I was routed North on I95. Now I’m trying to get off 95 and figure out my next move. But thank you to the Fire Rescue folks. Much appreciated.’

Meanwhile, it appeared as though Northam was hoping the sun would help melt the snow and clear traffic. ‘Sunlight is expected to help @VaDOT clear the road,’ he said on Twitter.

But DeFede said that as of this morning, the road was still covered in ice.  

The governor said he could not provide an estimate for when I-95 would reopen or how many vehicles remained stranded. Transportation Department engineer Marcie Parker said the agency expected to finish clearing the interstate by Tuesday night and that it should be open for the Wednesday morning rush hour. 

Tow trucks were finally seen helping a man stranded in a Penske truck in Carmel Church on Tuesday afternoon

After temperatures rose to above-freezing levels, workers removed cars and trucks stranded on I-95 

As travelers reached their 24th hour without food and water, they grew desperate for the National Guard to help them

Horror stories from I-95: People growing desperate without food, water, gas and phone battery 

A family from Sterling, Virginia, told CNN that they are in dire need of a bathroom – not to mention food and water – after being stuck on I-95 for hours. 

On Monday Jennifer Travis, her husband and their 12-year-old daughter rented a car to drive home from their family vacation after their flight was cancelled – twice. 

Travis rented the car for $600 and expected to be home by 4am Tuesday after making the 12-hour and 20-minute drive up the east coast from Orlando, Florida, to her home in Virginia.

Luckily, the family-of-three is safe and still has a three-quarter tank of gas, but they are hungry and are in desperate need for a bathroom.

Travis told DailyMail.com that as of Tuesday afternoon, the roads were still ‘jammed,’ and so much so that emergency vehicles can’t even get through.

She added: ‘We were able to finally get off the 95 however the surrounding roads are now jammed and not moving. 

‘My family and I are trying to drive west so we can get away from the chaos but even roads like Rt 17 that feed off of I-95 are closed which is causing another back up.’ 

The mother also noted that no has has done welfare checks or helped distribute food, water or gas. 

‘My daughter is over it,’ Travis told CNN, noting that ‘she was scared when it was dark. Now it’s light she is calming down’.

She has since been sharing updates via Twitter, where she tweeted: ‘I haven’t seen @VaDOT but a fire and rescue team is walking the highway now.’ 

Travis pictured a fire and rescue team on the road Tuesday morning but said there was still no sign of the DOT

Isaac Arcos was stranded northbound on I-95 for about seven hours as his phone was dying and his car was running out of gas.

As of Tuesday morning, after being stuck about two miles away from Exit 110 for hours, his car only had 34 miles worth of gas left in the tank.

His phone was also drained down to 13% battery. 

Arcos was driving from Winston Salem, North Carolina, to the Quantico Marine base, which he was expecting to arrive at about midnight. 

He told CNN that he has warm clothes but doesn’t have any food or water.

Journalist Jim DeFede has been stuck on the I-95 ‘just south of Quantico’ for 24 hours and said in a Twitter video that ‘there is absolutely no sign that this is going to change anytime soon,’ despite a notification he got on his phone saying help is on the way.

In an update posted an hour later, a hungry DeFede – who has now gone a full day without food – filmed a Good Samaritan handing him a loaf of bread.

The Good Samaritan, who had been sitting behind a Schmidt Baking Company truck with his wife for hours on end, decided to contact the food company.

‘The owner of the truck told the driver to open it up and start handing out food to people,’ the unidentified man said in the video. 

NBC correspondent Josh Lederman reported on Tuesday morning that he was stuck on the highway overnight with his dog.

He said that traffic came to a halt around 8pm near Stafford on Monday night during his trip back to DC and he hadn’t moved much since then, nor had he seen any emergency vehicles.

‘Once it got to be 9pm or 10pm, I realized we were going to be here all night long,’ he told Hoda Kotb on a Today segment Tuesday morning, and added that he has been eating the few granola bars and pack of gum he luckily had in his car. 

‘We started to see a lot of drivers turning their cars off to conserve gas, people running out of food and water, kids and pets holed up for so many hours, people letting their pets out of the car to try to walk them on the street,’ Lederman added, noting that he was worried there would be a medical emergency if someone ran out of gas in the 26-degree weather. 

NBC correspondent Josh Lederman reported on Tuesday morning that he was stuck on the highway overnight with his dog and tweeted updates

Meera Rao and her husband, Raghavendra, were driving home from visiting their daughter in North Carolina when they got stuck Monday evening. They were only 100 feet past an exit but could not move for roughly 16 hours.

‘Not one police (officer) came in the 16 hours we were stuck,’ she said, according to AP. 

Rao added that they stopped their car engine at least 30 times to conserve gas and ran the heat just enough to get warm. They also had some potato chips, nuts and apples to eat, but Rao did not want to drink any bottled water because she had a sprained ankle and did not think she could reach a makeshift restroom.

‘No one came. It was just shocking. Being in the most advanced country in the world, no one knew how to even clear one lane for all of us to get out of that mess?’ 

Rao told The Times that she had even checked the travel conditions before leaving their home and had seen no warnings. 

And after what seemed like a never-ending stay in their car, a tow truck driver appeared and cleared away snow, allowing the Raos and a couple of other cars back up and take the exit.

‘He was a messenger from God,’ Rao said. ‘I literally was in tears.’ 

Meanwhile, Maryland resident Darryl Walter was stuck for 10 hours as he drove home from a Florida beach vacation with his wife, son and dog Brisket, although he was one of the lucky ones and made it back to his home on Tuesday.

Walter recalled that the worst part of the ordeal was not knowing how long it would last. ‘We didn’t see plows out there. Snow removal has always been a joke in this area,’ he told AP.

For roughly five of those hours, he even turned off the car until northbound traffic started crawling again.

The family had a few bottles of water, some bags of chips, a blanket for warmth and Trivial Pursuit to pass the time.

And when traffic finally started moving on the northbound side of the highway, the Walters passed a long line of southbound cars that were unable to get past jack-knifed trucks. ‘It had to be 15 miles of backup,’ Walter said.

At 10am, while still sitting in the same spot on I-95 near Quantico, posted an update saying that he received a notification from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) saying ‘state locals coming ASAP with supplies and to move you’.

‘I am not reassured by this message,’ DeFede said as the governor failed to post an update after his misleading 8am tweet saying ‘state and local emergency personnel are continuing to clear downed trees, assist disabled vehicles, and re-route drivers’. 

Dozens of others stuck on the highway spoke out, too, saying they were hungry and cold without the proper supplies while expressing their frustrations that the National Guard was not being deployed to help them – as drivers with pets were seen walking their dogs along the side of the road. 

Northam had said that he opted not to request National Guard help because the issue facing state crews was not a lack of manpower but the difficulty of getting workers and equipment through the snow and ice to where they needed to be. He said that effort was complicated by disabled vehicles, freezing temperatures and ice, according to AP. 

The snowstorm dumped nearly a foot of snow onto the roads, causing drivers to get stuck without food, water and gas for more than 19 hours and counting

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) confirmed both directions of I-95 remained shut down between Ruther Glen, Virginia, in Caroline County and exit 152 in Dumfries, Prince William County, as of Tuesday morning

Hundreds of motorists have been stuck in the snow for more than 15 hours along a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia after a crash involving six tractor-trailers, authorities said, during a snowstorm that piled 7 to 11 inches of snow on the US East Coast’s main north-south highway

As of 3.30pm Monday, Virginia State Police had responded to more than 2,000 calls for service due to treacherous road conditions

The roads were covered with a sheet of ice as temperatures dipped into the teens and twenties overnight

As of Tuesday morning, hundreds of trucks were still seen piled up bumper-to-bumper along I-95

Heavy rain that preceded the storm made it difficult to pretreat roads, and conditions began to deteriorate around midnight, the governor added. 

One user called the event a ‘complete and utter failure of government infrastructure and support,’ adding that excuses of lacking resources doesn’t make sense ‘when they are funded by literal TRILLIONS of dollars and have every sort of vehicle and machine to traverse all matters of terrain’.

Another appeared desperate as they tweeted: ‘How can you continue to leave those people stranded in such cold weather?! Where is your national guard? Where is your emergency response unit? People are gonna die!’

Arlin Tellez, 22, told The New York Times that she was traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina, when she got stranded 80miles south of DC since 5pm Monday without food or water.

Tellez was driving home from school with a friend and said that they were layering clothes they packed to stay warm.

‘Honestly, it’s been so horrible,’ she said, adding that information from the police was not reaching the drivers. ‘There’s just no way for us to know what’s actually happening,’ she told The Times. 

At the same time, Amtrak in Virginia faced severe delays as trees blocked the tracks, officials said, as winter weather proved to wreak havoc on passenger trains in the state, too.

Amtrak’s Crescent – which left New Orleans on Sunday on its way to New York – got stuck near Lynchburg on Monday morning and returned to Virginia and remained there Tuesday with passengers on board. 

On Tuesday morning, passengers still aboard the train told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they were without food, functioning toilets and information from the railroad as to what happens next. 

‘All we’ve been told is there are trees on the tracks preventing us from moving forward,’ passenger Sean Thornton said Tuesday, AP reported.

‘Nobody has eaten for about 20 hours and the toilets in coach are completely backed up. The snack bar sold out of food yesterday. Passengers have been banned from leaving the train,’ he added, although Amtrak told a local news station that passengers are, in fact, allowed to leave the train.

Amtrak says the train is supposed to complete its trip to New York, which was scheduled to end on Monday, once the tracks are clear.

‘Our staff is working to make sure food and water is available for customers,’ spokesperson Kimberly Woods wrote in an email. 

People traveling with pets got out of the car to walk their dogs after spending hours in the car

Drivers on the north- and southbound sides of I-95 were seen stranded in traffic in a aerial picture of the highway 

Drivers were even attempting to order DoorDash to their vehicles in a dire effort to get food and water 

Road conditions were icy as temperatures dipped into the teens and twenties overnight

A southbound entrance to I-95 was closed as of Monday morning  

Roads were still closed as of Tuesday morning as state police struggled to clear the traffic

Drivers remained stranded on the I-95 for 20 hours and counting

Dozens of others spoke out, saying they were hungry and cold without the proper supplies while expressing their frustrations that the National Guard was not being deployed to help them

Traffic reached a standstill Monday afternoon following a tractor-trailer collision on the US East Coast’s main north-south highway – and it became impossible to move as nearly a foot of snow and ice accumulated with temperatures dipping into the teens and twenties. 

Northam later tweeted that the state police, Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) have ‘been working throughout the night’ although it did not seem that much progress had been made.

‘State and local emergency personnel are continuing to clear downed trees, assist disabled vehicles, and re-route drivers,’ the tweet read. 

In a previous tweet, Northam wrote: ‘An emergency message is going to all stranded drivers connecting them to support, and the state is working with localities to open warming shelters as needed.’  

But on Tuesday morning, authorities were still struggling to reach those involved in the crash and the VDOT announced in a statement that I-95 ‘is closed northbound and southbound from exit 152 (Dumfries Road) to exit 104 (Carmel Church) as crews continue work to remove stopped trucks, treat for icing, and plow snow’.

By noon, temperatures are expected to rise above freezing and assist in the rescue – although they are set to drop back into the twenties by 6pm, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

The VDOT confirmed both directions of I-95 remained shut down between Ruther Glen, Virginia, in Caroline County and exit 152 in Dumfries, Prince William County, as of Tuesday morning. 

‘Crews will start taking people off at any available interchange to get them – for the southbound queue 143 (Garrisonville) and 140 (Courthouse) and northbound at exit 104 and exit 110. NB is 104 (Carmel Church) and 110 is Ladysmith,’ the VDOT tweeted at 5.20am Tuesday.   

Travelers stuck in the snow grew furious as their woes weren’t answered and emergency personnel were not coming to their rescue

Trucks were still piled up along a 50-mile stretch of the I-95 as of Tuesday morning 

People were seen getting out of their car to stretch their legs after being stranded in their cars overnight

About 20-to-30 trucks were still stuck on I-95 northbound near the Thornburg exit, which is between Richmond and Washington, DC, the VDOT said

Compounding the challenges, traffic cameras went offline as much of central Virginia lost power in the storm

In the Fredericksburg area, some of the drivers who were stranded on Monday by the severe weather conditions still reported that they were stuck as of sunrise on Tuesday – some due to disabled trucks

More than 400,000 customers remained without electricity on Tuesday as travelers remained stranded on I-95

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said that the state police, Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) have ‘been working throughout the night’

As drivers ran of out food and water on the roads, more than 400,000 customers remained without electricity off the roads

Motorists sat stranded on the northbound side of the highway near Fredericksburg

Josh Lederman, who has been stranded in his car for the past 10 hours on I-95 near Stafford, told Today: ‘We started to see a lot of drivers turning their car off to conserve gas. 

‘People running out of food and water, kids and pets holed up for so many hours. People letting their pets out of their cars to try to walk them on the street, and in the meantime, no signs of any emergency vehicles.’   

Meanwhile, thousands of accidents and stranded vehicles were reported throughout central and northern Virginia. As of 3.30pm Monday, Virginia State Police had responded to more than 2,000 calls for service due to treacherous road conditions, The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg reported. 

In the Fredericksburg area, some of the drivers who were stranded on Monday by the severe weather conditions still reported that they were stuck as of sunrise on Tuesday – some due to disabled trucks – the VDOT said.

Around 6.15am Tuesday, Former State Department Senior Advisor Susan Phalen, with her four dogs, told CNN she has been stuck in her car just south of Stafford since 8pm the night before. She left her house in Fredericksburg for an hour-long trip but is now stranded 30 minutes from her home.

In the Fredericksburg area, some of the drivers who were stranded on Monday by the severe weather conditions still reported that they were stuck as of sunrise on Tuesday – some due to disabled trucks – the VDOT said. 

Around 6.15am Tuesday, Former State Department Senior Advisor Susan Phalen, with her four dogs, told CNN she has been stuck in her car just south of Stafford since 8pm the night before. She left her house in Fredericksburg for an hour-long trip but is now stranded 30 minutes from her home. 

Compounding the challenges, traffic cameras went offline as much of central Virginia lost power in the storm, the VDOT said, after noting that about 20-to-30 trucks were still stuck on I-95 northbound near the Thornburg exit, which is between Richmond and Washington, DC.

The department said towing crews were on the scene.

Off the roads, more than 400,000 customers remained without electricity on Tuesday, CNN reported. 

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