A “strict no unnecessary travel” advisory was put in place by the county sheriff’s office in those areas hit hardest by heavy snowfall. County residents were asked to stay home and off the roads to give emergency services personnel and snowplows the access they needed to clear the roads.
In Lewis County, the sheriff’s department closed a section of Route 177 between state Route 12 and the Jefferson County line at about 11 a.m. for almost five hours because of “zero visibility and multiple vehicles off the road,” according to a county dispatcher. The road reopened at 3:45 p.m.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Department issued a no-unnecessary-travel advisory at 9 a.m. Thursday, meaning travel should be kept to a minimum for such reasons as work and doctor’s appointments.
A winter storm warning was in effect until 7 a.m. today.
At about 11 a.m., an unidentified mail carrier was stricken with a possible cardiac arrest on Route 177, Lewis and Jefferson County 911 dispatchers said. A South Jeff ambulance was called in because it was closer to the call and the mail carrier was taken to the hospital, a dispatcher said.
Trooper Keller said the unidentified mail carrier died. The incident remains under investigation, awaiting an autopsy and that a medical condition might be the cause, he said.
