April snowstorm in Regina causes multiple vehicle crashes

An overnight spring snowstorm that blanketed southern Saskatchewan created some slick and icy road conditions Monday morning.

Up to 13 centimetres of snow fell overnight and in the morning hours.

Regina police said they responded to five vehicle collisions since midnight. Those involved in the collisions had relatively minor or no injuries.

Multiple cars in ditches were also reported along the Ring Road, including this flipped pickup truck.

That, and other similar crashes were to blame for major traffic delays during Monday’s morning rush hour commute.

ABC Towing manager and driver Bob Cook said he had seen at least three winch outs on the roads.

“Busy start to the day, the snow always brings bad driving… The sign says maximum, for maximum speed. That’s for ideal weather conditions. This is way less than ideal,” Cook said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Busy start to the day, the snow always brings bad driving… The sign says maximum, for maximum speed. That's for ideal weather conditions. This is way less than ideal," Cook said.

Auto shops have also been busy switching drivers’ tires, from winter to summer tires.

At Kal Tires, sales manager Geoff Wiebe recommended leaving the winter tires for as long as possible.

“What we’ve been dealing with is the past couple of weeks is the winter to summer changeover, so we’re in full swing of that… It’s all about safety,” he said.

“In the fall, you want to get the winters on as early as possible, and in the spring you actually want to leave them as long as you can,” Wiebe advised.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "In the fall, you want to get the winters on as early as possible, and in the spring you actually want to leave them as long as you can," Wiebe advised.

The city said they had 10 sanders and 14 graders to deal with the snowfall overnight, focusing on high speed and arterial roads. The response was a standard response, according to the city.