SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio family was unable to move on the road due to icy conditions as a weekend blast of arctic weather put the region in its grip. The couple had some water, trail mix and blankets, but ended up running out of diapers for their 1-year-old-son.
Drivers reported they were stuck for hours – and all night long, in some cases – along a stretch of I-10 between Junction and Kerrville. Early Friday morning, A Texas Department of Transportation spokesperson in San Angelo said hundreds of drivers and truckers were still stuck. TxDOT confirmed Friday evening that the most affected area is still between exit 465 in Segovia and exit 478, the Kerr County line. They said I-10 was impassable for most of the morning.
One of the vehicles stuck in that traffic mess was carrying Tim Calderon, his wife and their 1-year-old son. On Thursday morning, they packed their truck, filled up their gas tank and departed San Antonio for New Mexico.
Calderon said they made it just outside of Kerrville when they hit ice.
“We just thought it was normal traffic. You know, with ice, we’re south Texas—we’re not really used to driving in it,” Calderon said.
But the situation didn’t improve on the road for the family, and they ended up stuck for 12 hours in one spot.
“That was just tough because that was around 1:00 in the morning. We were now out of diapers. Luckily, we had some water. We had a truck driver who offered us some water as well,” recalled Calderon. “I would turn off my truck, turn it on and off throughout the night to preserve gas.”
Calderon said they had blankets, trail mix and some water. He said the situation was made worse by a truck driver with a cattle trailer who ate up more time. Calderon said the man blocked both lanes and refused to let drivers pass.
Calderon said he confronted the man, and said this about the situation:
“If he wasn’t going anywhere, no one was going anywhere. Blocked the interstate for two hours; I don’t know what he was thinking or wanting to accomplish,” he said. “He caused a pretty big holdup, because as soon as I left and got past him, I had open road for about two miles.”
When KENS 5 spoke with Calderon around 3 p.m. Friday, he said the family was moving along on the road again. They stopped by to refuel their truck, grab food and buy diapers.
Later in the evening, when they made it to Sonora, their truck overheated. Luckily, Calderon said they were able to find a person to fix their vehicle and the family has settled in a hotel room.
On Friday evening, a TxDOT spokesperson said crews are still working to improve road conditions, but they are also having issues due to the weather. Karen Threlkeld, of TxDOT San Angelo District, said the road is getting more treacherous as the evening goes on.
“The traffic is double lanes, bumper to bumper. We have not been able to get out there to sand and salt the roads," Threlkeld said. "So unfortunately, the traffic is crawling along approximately about a 15 mile back-up. Although it was moving; it was very, very slowly moving."
She said that the Kimble County Sheriff’s Office and volunteer organizations been bringing food, water and small amount of gasoline to drivers.