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December 5, 2009

Snow, ice cause of numerous wrecks, bridge closures

Winter storm conditions made for a busy night for Port Arthur and Beaumont police departments Friday and into Saturday morning.

More than 41 traffic accidents were reported in Port Arthur and by 1 a.m. Saturday, both the Veterans Memorial Bridge and Rainbow Bridge were shut down, according to a press release from PAPD. Icing was also reported on the Martin Luther King Bridge to Pleasure Island early Saturday morning.

There was some difficulty getting sand and gravel dispersed on some of the bridges and most of the accidents were minor.

However, one accident at 4900 Texas 73 involved a man getting pinned between two vehicles. He was transported to Christus Hospital-St. Elizabeth in Beaumont with serious injuries.

PAPD’s Major/Advanced Accident Investigations Team is handling the case.

Beaumont officers saw more than 75 accidents as extreme icing conditions spread to overpasses, according to a press release from BPD.

One of the worst area's where vehicles were sliding off of the freeway and crashing onto the service road was at Interstate 10 and Walden Road.

A major wreck on IH10 over the Neches River shut down both East and West bound lanes about 1:50 a.m. Saturday.

The area was shut down to traffic until haz-mat crews arrived to clean up a fuel spill and crews repair the retainer wall.

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