It's been a cold and snowy January so far. Far from just bringing a winter wonderland, Winter Storm Blair has also proven to be deadly as well. At least six people have died due to the wintery conditions. Snow and ice have proved to be a deadly combo.
Winter Storm Blair has moved across the mainland United States, impacting states from coast to coast. In some areas, it's brought along a foot of snow. The winter conditions of snow and ice have made it dangerous to step into one's vehicle. That's why California long-haul driver Michael Taylor decided to park his big rig for the storm.
As he explained to the Associated Press, it's just not worth betting his life.
"It was too dangerous," Taylor explained "I didn't want to kill myself or anyone else."
Winter Storm Blair
It proved to be a wise move as Winter Storm Blair has proved to be deadly. On Sunday, a dump truck "stopped to let a passenger out of the vehicle." The 61-year-old man was then hit by a truck after the vehicle slid across the roadway. Meanwhile, on Saturday, a 33-year-old man died after a parked semi-truck "became a downhill runaway" and hit him.
Another man died from a semi-truck that day. The vehicle jackknifed on U.S. Route 56 and hit the man's 2017 Toyota Tacoma. 28-year-old Bernabe E. Rincon died in the resulting wreck. Meanwhile, two other people died in vehicle collisions from the winter storm. In Wichita, Kansas, two died after 2002 GMC Yukon slid off Interstate 235. It ended up rolling down an embankment. 24-year-old Nathaniel Boyd and 26-year-old Whitney Allmond both perished in the crash.
It wasn't all vehicle collisions. A child also died during the winter storm as well. A day of fun in the snow proved to be deadly for the 10-year-old. He accidentally got slingshotted into a boulder while on an innertube. The child was being pulled by an all-terrain vehicle.
10-year-old Jack D. Brinkoetter perished in the crash. Another boy ended up at the hospital with life-threatening injuries as well. He had been on the intertube when it wrecked.
