Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam blamed drivers caught in a snowstorm-induced traffic jam again Wednesday for remaining on the roads.
Drivers traveling on I-95 between Caroline County and Prince William County, Virginia, were subject to massive delays on Monday and Tuesday caused by nearly a foot of snow, as well as a crashed tractor-trailer. Some drivers were trapped on the highway for more than 24 hours. Northam did not declare a state of emergency to address the crisis or deploy the National Guard.
Instead, drivers should have exercised more caution and stayed off the roads, according to the governor.
Northam asserted that the state of Virginia “gave warnings, and people need to pay attention to these warnings,” in an interview with The Washington Post published Tuesday. (RELATED: ‘Who’s The Jack*ss That Said That… Pisses Me Off’: Weatherman Goes Off On Gov Northam During Live Broadcast)
He doubled down on those comments a day later, during a radio interview with WRVA’s Matt Demlein.
Northam did not like WRVA asking about I-95 backup. “I don’t know why you’re sitting there saying ‘what went wrong.’ … Why don’t you start asking some of these individuals that were out on the highways … why did you feel it was so important to drive through such a snowstorm?”
— Patrick Wilson (@patrickmwilson) January 6, 2022
“We knew that this storm was coming. We put warnings out. Why don’t you start asking some of these individuals who were out on the highway for hours, one, did you know about the storm, two, why did you feel it was so important to drive through such a snowstorm, and three, in hindsight, do you think maybe you should have stayed home or wherever you were rather than getting out on Interstate 95? I think that would be interesting to hear,” Northam said.
Among those trapped in their cars were a family who, according to WaPo, missed a funeral in New York after sitting in traffic for 19 hours, as well as another family returning home from a vacation in Florida and Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who was forced to call into a White House meeting to discuss election law rather than attend in person.
Northam finally declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in anticipation of another winter storm that is expected to hit Northern Virginia on Thursday evening.
