Motorists stranded in Laurel Ridge ice storm get warm welcome from Fairfield couple

A Fairfield Township couple provided sanctuary to motorists stranded by an ice storm Sunday evening on Laurel Ridge, earning thanks in return for their hospitality.

The ice-slicked surface of Route 271 left a Greyhound bus and dozens of other vehicles stuck for several hours on the western slope of the ridge as the storm hit its height at about 5 p.m.

People in two of the vehicles pulled off the road near the home of Aaron Losier and Jessica Frayer, who invited them inside and provided them comfort and warmth.

“They did not have to do any of this,” said Hempfield resident Gregg Millar, one of the motorists. “They went out of their way to help people in need, and it is something that I will be forever grateful for.”

Millar said his family was returning home from an outing in Johnstown. He said the temperature was warm enough for the precipitation to fall as rain as they were leaving the city about 3 p.m.

But as they started down the west side of Laurel Ridge, the ride became harrowing. “We were sliding all over the road, and we would start going sideways,” he said. “A lot of cars were ‘ping-ponging’ along the road.

“It was terrifying. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Deciding it would be even more dangerous to attempt to return uphill toward Johnstown, the Millars finally found a safe place to pull off at Losier and Frayer’s home.

Millar said Losier and Frayer took him, his wife, Stephanie, and their two young daughters — Olivia, 3, and Maria, 4 months — into their living room, along with the occupants of another car: an expectant mother and her young daughter.

Their hosts turned on children’s TV programming, provided a toy that belonged to a niece and offered a snack to help the time pass for the older girls. They also provided access to water, allowing the Millars to clean and replenish formula in Olivia’s bottle, Gregg Millar said.

Without that help, Millar said, his family could have been in for an extra dose of trouble. Their SUV was running low on gas, and he wasn’t sure how long they could have kept the engine and the heater running.

“By the grace of God, we ended up in front of their house,” Millar said. “They turned what could have been a very bad experience into a pleasant evening.”

The Fairfield couple, who purchased the Ligonier Creamery in 2022, also provided their guests with some parting gifts — tokens good for ice cream treats at the shop.

“It’s nothing special,” Losier said of opening his family’s home to the stranded strangers. “I think anyone would have done this. I would hope someone would do it for me.

“We wanted them to know they were safe here. They were guests in our house, just like our friends would be if we had them over for dinner.”

He said he offered shelter to a third motorist who was stranded nearby, but that driver opted to stick it out in his car.

Response a challenge

While Losier and Frayer did their part to help the stranded travelers, area first responders rescued passengers on the Greyhound bus, including two adults who were injured. PennDOT crews, after encountering some initial trouble, applied salt to make the road passable again.

Waterford fire Chief Rob Beaufort said his department was called about 5:30 p.m. to respond to the bus that had left the road.

When the icy road prevented them from reaching the bus in their fire truck, they enlisted their off-road utility task vehicle and a similar UTV from the neighboring Fairfield fire department.

“They took paramedics up with them, and they assessed two injured passengers on the bus and brought them back down to the ambulance,” Beaufort said.

The two adults were taken by ambulance to Independence Health Latrobe Hospital for treatment, according to Shawn Penzera, spokesman for Mutual Aid Ambulance Service.

Eventually, Beaufort said, “We were able to get everybody off the bus and to the (Waterford) fire hall, where they were assessed. We took some kitty litter and sprinkled it on the ice so we could get the people off the bus without sliding. We also used some absorbent material we had on our vehicles.

“Another Greyhound bus from Pittsburgh came and picked them up, and they were on their way.”

The bus that skidded off the road had to be towed, he said.

Because of the hazardous, icy conditions, Route 271 was closed for several hours from Turkey Inn Road in Fairfield uphill to Ligonier Pike, near the former Pickin’ Chicken restaurant in Upper Yoder Township, Cambria County.

Multiple PennDOT trucks responded to salt the road after an initial state truck itself got stuck, Beaufort said. “They got some other trucks and, with some salt around it, they were able to get it out,” he said.

The road was partially reopened about 8:45 p.m. and was fully opened at 10:30 p.m.

Icy highways

Hazardous conditions resulting from winter storms have caused a half-dozen closures of state routes over the Laurel Ridge east of Ligonier since November — about evenly split between routes 30 and 271, Beaufort said.

“This definitely was the worst,” he said of Sunday’s ice storm. “There were probably 50 cars total stuck up there. There were vehicles parked along the side of the road and a couple in the ditches.”

He estimated the ice on the road was as thick as 2 inches.

Beaufort said ice started falling in Waterford about 1 p.m. Sunday, and local news outlets and phone alerts provided advance warnings of the storm. But some people weren’t aware of those warnings and were caught off guard on the ridge.

Losier said he and his wife returned home about a half-hour before the first vehicles started pulling to the side of the icy road.

He had seen a forecast for a wintry mix of precipitation but said he didn’t expect the storm to be so severe.

“There were people parked up and down the road,” he said. “There was no snow, but when I was walking in the grass, I was still slipping. I’ve never seen ice like that.

“I watched a person get out of a car, and they just slid down the road 4 or 5 feet.”

After crews treated the road, the Millars were able to drive off about 9 p.m., reaching a gas station at routes 271 and 711 just in time.

“Our (low) gas light came on right as we got to the Sheetz,” Gregg Millar said.

As for Losier and Frayer, he said, “They were kind of angels in disguise.”