Ozaukee Co. deputies responds to 8 crashes, 21 disabled cars; Grafton police cite 'treacherous' conditions

OZAUKEE COUNTY (CBS 58) --- Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to numerous crashes and disabled cars over a 14 hour-period overnight on Wednesday, Dec. 30.

They responded to eight motor vehicle crashes and 21 disabled vehicles in the ditch due to snowy conditions, according to the sheriff's office.

"Roads are still being cleaned up by the Highway Department," the office said in a Facebook post. "If you need to travel today, please slow down and provide extra distance to stop."

Parts of Ozaukee County got up to 6.5 inches. Most of the main roads throughout the county have been plowed. Many people spent the day clearing off their driveways and sidewalks.

Digging out the first real snowfall of the year requires some elbow grease, but the King family in Grafton doesn't mind.

"Little late for Christmas, but it's better than seeing a brown landscape," said Greg King. His children, Taylor and Noah, said they plan on going sledding and having snowball fights.

Ozaukee County Public Works Director Jon Edgren said all 26 of the county's trucks were out on the roads around 3 or 4 a.m.

"After a pretty light November and December, it was it was a busy night with five to six inches of heavy wet snow coming down," Edgren said. "Five inches of heavy wet snow tends to throw a lot of weight to the side. So I think that'll probably be our biggest challenge: trying to clean up signs or mailboxes after the fact as we kind of dig them out."

The Village of Grafton Police Department called the conditions overnight "treacherous." Officers responded to drivers getting stuck in ditches and multiple crashes.

"Anytime you get snow, you're going to have an increase in calls," said Chief Jeff Caponera.

Caponera said his officers had it under control, but people can't get complacent.

"We do live in the north, and we're gonna get snow. And sometimes it's going to get more than we are expecting, and they're just going to have to adjust accordingly," he said.