Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Nearly three months after travelers were stuck on I-95 in the Fredericksburg area for over 24 hours because of a snowstorm, the independent review of what happened has been released. The report is also accompanied by a letter from the current Secretaries of Transportation and of Public Safety and Homeland Security, who criticize the previous Governor, Ralph Northam (D), and his senior staff.
In the letter, the current agencies leader say "the report indicates the substantial involvement of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT} and the Virginia State Police (VSP} as the primary managers of the incident response with some limited involvement by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM}- primarily for communication amplification - and almost no apparent involvement by the Governor or his senior staff." Current Governor Glenn Youngkin also criticizes the Northam administration, saying “This report demonstrates as the storm changed in intensity and left Virginians and travelers stranded on I-95, the previous administration’s leadership did not properly prepare or communicate."
The report itself does not mention Northam in its conclusion. Rather it calls for better large scale planning, more direct communication with the public (such as through wireless alerts), and exploring different ways of gathering information on the ground. Communication and information at the time were hampered by power outages from the storm.
Former Governor Ralph Northam did come under criticism at the time of the storm when, during an interview with WRVA, he said he was sick and tired of being asked what went wrong, and wondered why more questions weren't being asked of those driving in it (among those stuck were Senator Tim Kaine (D)). He later said he regretted people were stuck for so long. You can see the interview below: