- A reporter trapped on Virginia's I-95 highway said drivers are turning off their cars to save fuel.
- NBC Correspondent Josh Lederman said people are also walking their dogs on the frigid road.
- As of Tuesday morning, drivers in northern Virginia have been trapped for at least 15 hours.
An NBC reporter who is trapped with hundreds on Virginia's I-95 highway said drivers are turning off their cars to conserve fuel and walking their dogs on the frigid road.
"People — once it got into about five hours — that people were stuck in their cars, started turning their cars off because, frankly, people wanted to conserve gas," Correspondent Josh Lederman said on Morning Joe early Tuesday morning.
He added the stranded drivers "didn't know how long they'd be able to stay warm if they ran out of gasoline."
Lederman also said some people have left their cars to walk their dogs on the interstate and let their kids have a break outside.
Lederman's own dog was stranded with him in his car.
On Monday night, Lederman posted to Twitter that some people were taking exercise breaks outside their cars and using their feet to clear snow around the vehicles.
—Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) January 4, 2022
As of Tuesday morning, drivers near Fredericksburg in northern Virginia have been stuck for at least 15 hours after a crash involving multiple tractor-trailers shut down traffic going both north and south.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam wrote on Twitter that a team working with the state's Department of Transportation is trying to free the trapped commuters.
"State and local emergency personnel are continuing to clear downed trees, assist disabled vehicles, and re-route drivers," he wrote.
The Department of Transportation said on Tuesday morning that crews are working to clear up the scene.
"This is unprecedented, and we continue to steadily move stopped trucks to make progress toward restoring lanes," the department said in a statement.
It added: "Plans are underway to guide vehicles currently stopped on interstate to nearby interchanges, where they can access alternate routes."
It is unclear when exactly the stranded drivers will be freed.
"Nobody knows how long we're going to be here or how we're going to get out," Lederman said Tuesday morning.