INTERSTATE 95, Virginia (WWNY) – Did you hear about that winter storm that snarled traffic on Interstate 95 in Virginia? It left some drivers stranded for nearly 24 hours in freezing temperatures. One of those drivers is from the north country.
Somewhere in the sea of cars on Interstate 95 were Richard Austin and his family.
“We were in total gridlock. We did not move at all,” said Richard.
After visiting family in South Carolina, Richard, his wife, Shirley, and daughter, Jacalyn, began their 15-hour trip back home to Morristown around 6:30 Monday morning.
“It’s a road that’s quite familiar to us,” said Richard.
Around 5:30 that same evening, their 15-hour trip turned into a 32-hour one.
“Today, it went to the bottom of our list of roads to travel,” said Richard.
The Austin family found themselves stranded for 17 hours on I-95 along with thousands of other drivers. Many of them were out walking around the interstate, talking to their new neighbors about when they’d be freed.
One of those drivers, was Marissa Olney. She was on her way home to Florida after visiting family in Watertown for the holidays.
She was stuck for 27 hours.
“As the time went on I started to get more concerned, and then went into survival mode. Checking how much water I have, conserving gas, and keeping warm,” Olney said.
And even when Olney got off I-95, things were still rough.
“I had to pull over to get gas because I was about 20 miles until empty. So I did that, which was an hour wait,” Olney said.
“We were asking each other questions, you know, ‘What did you hear?’ And asking what each other knew,” said Richard.
Richard says they spent the night on social media and talking with each other to pass the time.
Luckily, Richard had just filled his gas tank, and packed enough oxygen tanks and canisters for his wife whose on oxygen.
As for how his family made through the highway-turned-parking lot, Richard credits his north country roots.
“Living in the north country and it’s snowing, never let your gas tank get below half full. Stop early and fill up. You never know when you might need that full tank,” said Richard.
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