DeKALB – Wet weather left ice and fog around DeKalb County on Monday, and caused several crashes on area roads.
With the icy rain accumulating to a couple tenths of an inch, drivers and pedestrians were advised to be aware of slippery roads and sidewalks. If left untreated, these roads and sidewalks could turn into "sheets of ice," a National Weather Service statement said.
"Depending on how it [the salt and the temperature] reacts [Sunday night], we'll see what the need is in the early hours of the morning," Schwartz said. "Hopefully, it won't be icy in the morning. If not, we'll be out early."
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Department said the roads were becoming icy at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, and there were multiple single-car accidents reported.
Plank Road outside Sycamore was the scene of a couple of crashes, including one at 4:15 p.m. where a Schaumburg man lost control of his vehicle, which left the road and hit a utility pole and two trees before coming to a stop, according to a release from the Sheriff's Department.
A second single-vehicle crash not long after midnight on Monday, when a Quincy woman lost control of her vehicle, which ended up in a ditch on Plank west of Lukens, police said.
Road crews from the county and the public works departments of DeKalb and Sycamore were out early Sunday salting the roads in preparation for the day's freezing rain.
Mark Espy, assistant director of DeKalb public works for street operations, said his crews went out at 8 a.m. and sprayed the bridges and overpasses ahead of time, in addition to salting all of their routes.
Espy said he stayed in touch with DeKalb police as the day went on.
"If it holds this temperature, we should be in good shape," Espy said in regards to road conditions. However, if the temperature dropped and the roads became icy, the salt trucks would be out again, he said.
County Engineer Nathan Schwartz and Fred Busse, director of Sycamore public works, voiced similar sentiments, saying that they were also keeping an eye on the temperature as evening approached.
Busse said Sycamore crews were out between noon and 3 p.m. Schwartz said his crew went out at 2 p.m., salting and plowing every road they came across.
