Minnesota has faced a harsh winter this year, with icy roads creating hazardous driving conditions across the state. Slippery streets and unexpected patches of ice have made everyday travel increasingly dangerous, especially for high school students who lack experience driving in such extreme weather. Freezing rain and prolonged subzero temperatures have led to widespread black ice, which limits the effectiveness of road treatments and makes roads difficult to control. There has also been glare ice, which can make roads appear wet when they are actually solid ice, increasing the risk of sliding and making it hard to brake. Three students from Southwest share their firsthand experiences with crashes caused by these icy conditions.
Lily Dimarco (‘26)
“My car crash happened on Christmas, and it was the first time I had left the house all day. I was visiting my friend for maybe an hour, and as I was driving home, maybe going 10 mph, I came around this corner and started to slide. I didn’t realize there was black ice, and I slid 100-150 ft, right into a parked car. It ended up being my neighbor’s car. In tears, I tried to get out of my car, but I couldn’t open the driver’s seat, so I had to climb out the passenger seat, and as I got out, I slipped on the ice and fell. I ended up leaving a Post-it note on their car.”
Rishab Singh (‘27)
“I was driving me and my friends out for lunch during the school day. As I was coming back, I didn’t have a stop sign, and even though the other car did, they didn’t see me, and both of us couldn’t stop in time, especially because of how slippery it was. There was a lot of damage to my car, and it had to be towed. I’m no longer allowed to leave during lunch.”
Riley Cox (‘27)
“I was driving in the Hyland parking lot really slowly since it was very icy and snowing a lot. Even with how slow I was driving, I started sliding and hit a 3000 dollar hyland park sign. I came back the next day and talked to the Hyland workers, who said not to worry about it. But then, 10 minutes after I got home, the police showed up to my house. I ended up clearing it up with them, and it all worked out.”
