Truckers Stranded On I-35E For Second Night

Upwards of 300 big rig drivers have been stranded for more than 24 hours at a truck stop along I-35 just north of Denton.

"There are certain things that a driver has no control over, and this is one of them," said Stephen Tisdale, a trucker from Fort Smith, Arkansas.
 
Tisdale told NBC DFW he was supposed to deliver the load he is hauling to Colorado by Saturday night.  Instead, his truck is stuck in the icy parking lot at the Travel-centers of America off of the Krum exit of Interstate 35.
 
"You gotta get off the road to be safe.  So that's what a lot of us had to do," Tisdale said.
 
Like many of the other drivers there, Tisdale said he exited the interstate Friday night because traffic was at a standstill ahead of him and decided to wait out the backlog.
 
Sand trucks and heavy equipment finally freed up the highway around 4:00 p.m. Saturday, according to Donna Huerta, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Highways.
 
By that time, hundreds of drivers had spent at least 16 hours sitting in their vehicles on the interstate.
 
"I've never seen anything like this," said truck driver Bridgette Lewis, who is bound for Tulsa, but spent the night at the truck stop.  "I'm from New York, and in New York we don't get stuff like this."
Contact Us