No Fatalities Locally But Four Kids Hurt When Sliding Car Hits Another
Fayette County officials say they are unaware of any local fatalities attributed to the winter storm as of Wednesday, Feb. 17.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, firefighters and EMS responded to numerous vehicle accidents over the weekend and into the early part of this week. Most of those were minor.
The worst accident happened around 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, near Texas One Stop in La Grange, located at the intersection of SH 159 and SH 71. Fayette County EMS Director Josh Vandever said an ambulance crew responded to a vehicle that slid and skidded off the roadway. After the ambulance got there, another car came along and hit the first vehicle. Vandever said EMS personnel transported four injured children from that wreck to Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin.
Vandever said he had expected more serious medical calls due to the cold weather.
“The bulk of the calls have been pretty minor,” he said. “I was expecting to see hypothermia calls with the cold weather and power outages. At this point we’ve been pretty lucky.”
Vandever said the cold weather doubled response time due to the icy road conditions, especially in the south part of the County.
US 77 at the Bluff and Country Club drive were closed on Monday due to numerous accidents and dangerous road conditions. That limited access from the southern part of the County to La Grange.
“With the Bluff and Country Club Drive closed, the only way into La Grange is FM 609, and that has been sketchy at best,” Vandever said.
He said transport times to Austin hospitals has been two hours or more one way.
“Our going assumption is that it’s not safe to be on any road in Fayette County right now,” Vandever said on Wednesday. “If you do get out and get stranded, it will take us an extended amount of time to get to you and help you.”
La Grange Fire Chief Frank Menefee said his department responded to numerous fire alarm calls, including ones at Monument Hill Nursing Home, Tractor Supply and the LCRA maintenance office in La Grange. None of them were actual fires. He said low water pressure or frozen sprinkler lines set off the alarms.