Snow forces some NJ students to stay overnight in school

WEST ORANGE, New Jersey -- Sometimes you get snow days off, but sometimes snow days leave you stranded.

That was the case in West Orange, New Jersey.

Some students had to spend the night inside Liberty Middle School.

The principal did an excellent job of communicating with parents by tweeting about the situation in the school to keep them updated.

School officials realized Thursday afternoon that students weren't going to be able to get home, so they packed in the auditorium with games and movies and pulled out mats for students to sleep.

The superintendent tells Eyewitness News that the traffic on I-280 led to students becoming stranded there.

All it took was a couple of cars to run out of gas, stall or spin out to jam up traffic, preventing school buses from getting to the schools.

Friday morning many of those cars remained abandoned on I-280 making it difficult for the plows to even clear the road way.

"There's a big accident, not to mention about maybe 15 cars stuck up there as well. That's why we can't get through," a commuter said. "And the police can't get through either because you have no idea the abundance of traffic."

It took a lot of resources and help from school employees, including the cafeteria staff, to keep the children safe and fed at the school overnight.

A milk delivery truck even dropped off supplies in the early morning hours Friday.

The district planned to get students home Friday morning as soon as the roads are cleared.