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East Tennessee first responders receive near non-stop calls due to hazardous driving conditions

A weather system brought a large amount of snow to East Tennessee this week, followed by a wintry weather system that brought freezing rain.

ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. — First responders across East Tennessee were getting non-stop calls for help after two rounds of wintry weather swept through the region, bringing dangerous driving conditions. On Thursday, several crashes were reported on the area's interstates, including a crash that closed a highway in Roane County.

"Our staff is tired. Law enforcement is tired. Highway folks are tired," said, Tim Suter, the Roane County's Emergency Services Director. "We're seeing a lot of non-injury auto accidents, where folks slide off the side of the road."

The wintry weather first dumped several inches of snow across the area, causing roads to freeze and become slick. Then, later in the week, another round of wintry weather brought freezing rain that glossed over some roads with ice.

Roane County Emergency Services said as a result, the volume of calls is up. Both city and county agencies have responded to calls.

"It takes a toll on the people, and that's the biggest impact that I've seen from this storm," said Suter. "Through this storm we've had, probably three or four times where the interstate has been closed due to a tractor-trailer accident."

Roane County wasn't the only county facing dangerous driving conditions and several reports of crashes. There were also crashes in downtown Knoxville, along with crashes in Loudon County and Campbell County that blocked highway lanes.

"We've had at least ten crashes involving commercial vehicles stemming from last night," said Mark Nagi, with the Tennessee Department of Transportation. "There are multiple commercial vehicles that are still off the roadways."

First responders are hopeful that warmer temperatures by Monday will help improve road conditions, leading to fewer crashes.

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