Calif. Bomb Scare, Conn. Crashes Snarl Traffic on Coasts

Feb. 01--Traffic on both of the nation's coasts created major difficulties Tuesday for two very different reasons.

A bridge in Sacramento, Calif., was blocked off Tuesday afternoon after a woman possibly had a bomb in her car, according to the Sacramento Bee. The woman was taken into custody around 4:20 p.m. California time.

A West Sacramento police spokesman told the Sacramento Bee that "the driver pulled her car near the bridge and may have made threats of a bomb."

When officers tried to look at the car they saw "items blocking the windows," and "suspicious writing," according to the Sacramento Bee.

The bridge was raised to keep the vehicle from crossing Tower Bridge from West Sacramento, the Bee reports.

In Connecticut, hundreds of crashes occurred across the state along snowy interstates, according the Record Journal of Meriden, Conn.

Snow started falling Tuesday morning, the Record Journal reported, and the area was expected to accumulate up to four inches.

In an incident that occurred around 11:40 a.m., firefighters responded to a crash on I-91 involving 25 to 30 cars along a two-mile stretch, according to the Record Journal.

The highway was closed so emergency personnel could get to the crash, and 16 people with varying injuries were taken to the hospital. Yale-New Haven Hospital physicians and ambulances from nearby towns responded to the scene "after a mass casualty incident was declared," according to the Record Journal

State police officials told the Record Journal they responded two 284 crashes and assisted 86 motorists between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

(c)2017 The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)