GROVER - Although winter weather didn't cause a lot of traffic snarls earlier this week, it played a small factor into a wreck Thursday on I-85.
The wreck happened in Cleveland County, a few miles from the state line in the southbound lanes at mile marker two.
State Highway Patrol Trooper J.J. Waters said around 5:10 a.m., a Honda Accord struck a road sweeper that was sweeping up salt put down earlier in the week in preparation for snow and ice.
The wreck backed up traffic in southbound lanes, but traffic was flowing normally two hours later.
The sweeper's driver is a private contractor based out of Charlotte and was not a state-owned Department of Transportation vehicle, according to Highway Patrol. The Charlotte-based company ICA is responsible for sweeping I-8f in Gaston and Cleveland counties, according to the DOT.
"It's better to sweep a road at that time of the morning," Waters said.
The sweeper was in the right lane, going southwest on I-85 and was in the process of sweeping the roadway, the trooper said.
The 2002 Honda Accord was also in the right lane and was headed to Gaffney, S.C. from Charlotte. The larger vehicle in front of her blocked her view of the sweeper. When that vehicle moved, she struck the trailer in the rear. Waters said the woman had been following the car in front of her too closely. The speed limit on that part of the road is 65 mph, although Waters said speed was not a factor in the wreck.
"If you're following too closely to another vehicle and you can't see what's ahead of that vehicle and they suddenly move, you're going to hit what was in front, regardless of the speed," said Waters.
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