Ice makes travel tricky across area

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Icy weather didn't slam West Michigan with the ferocity we've seen in ice storms of the past, but the slippery conditions made it bad enough to make travel difficult and force the closings of more than 120 churches across the area.

A family driving on Grand Rapids' southeast side was rescued from their vehicle after Bill Allen and his family became stranded on the edge of a construction pit after icy roads caused their van to slide through a corner and off the road.

Allen was driving south on Horton Street when slick roads caused him to miss the turn right onto Southview Street. After missing the turn, the family minivan came to a stop right at the edge of a pit on the construction site of the new Salvation Army building.

The van was held in place by a small fence.

A city officer helped the family, including two adults and three children, escape from the perilously lodged vehicle.

Several slide-offs have been attributed to the icy roads throughout the day.

The icy weather was affecting traffic last night as well.

Robert Edwin Norton, a 31-year-old Sand Lake man, was killed Saturday night after he lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree.

Storm Team 8's Bill Steffen says in his blog that the freezing rain advisory that affected the area is now over, but that wet spots across West Michigan will likely freeze overnight.

The freezing rain advisory covered most of Lower Michigan plus far northeast Indiana and far northwest Ohio.

Viewer reports from across the area indicated that cars were having a tough time getting traction and trees and power lines are still being weighed down by some of the ice.