RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Cars were stranded on Interstate 95 Monday evening, leaving drivers and passengers with nowhere to go, forcing many to sleep in their cars overnight.

Traffic slowed for more than 40 miles in the Fredericksburg area as crews worked to clear the roads from Monday’s winter storm.

One of those drivers, Marvin Romero, was returning from a Florida vacation to his New York City home when he noticed traffic started to slow down around 3 p.m. Monday afternoon.

“I didn’t think about it,” Romero told 8News. “I expected normal traffic – a few hours. 3 hours, 4 hours max.

Hours later, Romero was still stuck.

“The time has continued to lengthen,” he said. “Next thing you know, it’s already one or two in the morning and I’m just wondering what’s going on. A lot of people felt like they left us there. “

Romero said there was a two-hour walk to the nearest hotel and an hour’s walk to the nearest gas station. Having no choice, Romero spent the night in his car with his two daughters.

“I turned off my car after a while to fall asleep,” he said. “We woke up in a cold car. I turned on my car as soon as I got up to warm up my daughters. We had blankets on us, but you still feel that cold.

It was a similar situation for Jeremy Jones who said he was trying to get home to Fredericksburg from Washington DC on Monday night.

“I stayed there until midnight until around 10:00 am,” he told 8News.

Romero said he was able to distribute bottled water to neighboring drivers and that he had snacks to keep his family.

“I knew there was a snowstorm coming,” he explained. “I just didn’t think any of these states would be prepared for this. I didn’t think a state would leave us on the highway. We just had peanuts. Fortunately, I had water in my trunk.

VDOT predicts that the road will be cleared in time for the Wednesday morning rush hour.