An inch and a half of snow that fell Monday morning caused more than 50 wrecks across Surry County, shifting emergency officials into high gear.

John Shelton, director of Surry County Emergency Services, said there were 51 wrecks reported Monday during the weather event. Of those, 40 involved property damage and 11 involved injuries.

“We did have a larger amount of personal injury accidents compared to other storms, probably because there were a lot of people out.”

He said the bulk of the accidents happened from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

There was a serious accident on N.C. 268 near Pilot Power Dam Road in which a motorist ran off the road and struck a tree, Shelton said. That driver was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for treatment.

He said there also was a head-on collision in the Cedar Ridge area and several other vehicles were overturned throughout the county.

Shelton said the accidents were a combination of those trying to go to work or get back home.

“I think it was just a combination of both, plus people had places they just thought they needed to go,” Shelton said.

He expected that there will be some black ice this morning with the temperatures falling overnight.

“People need to be really careful,” he said.

Sgt. Todd Keller of the N.C. Highway Patrol echoed comments about the amount of wrecks that were spread out across Surry County Monday.

“The snow hit fast and hard,” Keller said. “I was amazed that it started snowing and that it started sticking so quickly.”

He also expected there to be some black ice on Tuesday morning. He said drivers should be extra careful.

“Slow down, take your time, leave a little early or wait until the roads start drying out a little bit,” Keller said.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.