GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Roads turned icy and dangerous as the sun went down Wednesday night, causing a series of crashes, including some that contributed to the closure of the Leo Frigo Bridge.
Green Bay Police Commander Kevin Warych says there were 13 calls for accidents between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday night. He says a combination of conditions and crashes led officers to shut down the bridge for just over an hour.
“Due to the high number of crashes that were occurring and the amount of officers on the interstate investigating those crashes, they were calling for other resources to make sure drivers were slowing down. In doing so, they made the decision to shut down the Leo Frigo Bridge so no more crashes would happen in the future.”
Bridges also tend to become icy and slippery much quicker than regular roads.
One major accident involved a police officer being struck by an out-of-control vehicle. Warych says she was attempting to help the victim of an earlier crash on Interstate 43.
“They were walking back towards the squad car when another crash occurred due to the slippery road conditions and the officer and now-pedestrian were hit by that second crash,” Warych says, “we really avoided a tragedy, given how this crash occurred. All of the variables like weather, the amount of crashes, where officers were, and all of the elements that played into this – the situation could be a whole lot worse.”
Both the officer and pedestrian were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital.
