Police: Slow it down on snowy roads

Slippery roads, another dusting of snow and people driving too fast Tuesday added to the latest round of winter misery.

Across the Fox Valley, road maintenance crews have been dealing with salt shortages and exhausted drivers.

A 45-year-old Woodstock woman died after her car slammed into a utility pole in McHenry Tuesday morning.

Katherine Sedlak was pronounced dead at the scene, McHenry Police Sgt. Jeff Foerster said.

Rescue officials responded to the 6700 block of Bull Valley Road just after 7:43 a.m. and found Sedlak's 2007 Ford Focus flipped on its roof, Foerster said.

Sedlak was traveling west on Bull Valley Road when the Ford crossed the center line, rolled over and came to a stop when the roof hit the utility pole, police said. Sedlak was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash, he said.

Officials believe the inclement weather was probably a factor in the crash, although it is under investigation and no official cause has been established. Neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected, Foerster added.

Richard Burnidge, Elgin Township highway commissioner, said plows simply can't get down to the pavement when there's just a light snow dusting.

"The roads are greasy right now. When you get a light snowfall, there's still a skin after you plow it," he said. "You get it cleaned up and you think you're going to have a day or two break and then we have another (snow). Everybody's had it up to their eyeballs here (with winter)."

Slick roads were blamed for several accidents Tuesday.

An accident at Randall Road south of the Mill Creek bridge, near Batavia, injured three people, police said.

A Ford Explorer southbound on Randall lost control, spun into the northbound lanes and hit an Infiniti. Two adults and one child were taken to Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva about 8:30 a.m.

Randall was shut down while Kane County sheriff's police investigated and called for more salt to be spread.

There also were accidents at Randall and Main Street in Batavia, and Randall and Mooseheart roads near North Aurora, said Kane County Sheriff's Department Lt. Pat Gengler.

Batavia Fire Marshal Tom Springer said the roads didn't look like they were slick, but were indeed.

"People just don't seem to slow down. I really don't know what the problem is," he said.

Kane County Sheriff's Department Lt. Patrick Gengler said deputies responded to a higher number of accidents than usual, but he could not pinpoint exactly how many.

Gengler agreed with Springer that bad driving habits are a huge factor.

"One of the major causes of crashes is individuals not choosing to drive defensively and slow down," he said. "That always seems to be a factor -- people just not slowing down."

St. Charles firefighters responded to two weather-related accidents, Assistant Chief Joe Schelstreet said.

The first crash was reported at 7:48 a.m. at Dunham Road and Woodmere Lane in Wayne; the other was about 9:24 a.m. at Randall and Red Gate roads. Schelstreet said people were injured in both crashes, but the extent of their injuries was unclear.

Wayne police reported that road conditions are poor, and Dunham Road in particular has many icy surfaces.

Some towns, such as Gilberts, asked for patience from residents.

A letter posted on the village's Web site by Village President Thomas Wajda said the public works department just received more salt, but would not mix it with sand.

"Using sand will clog sewers which will cause flooding in the spring creating a bigger problem than the temporary icy conditions," read part of Wajda's message.