Icy Storms Choke Eastern Roads, Commuters Stalled : Winter: 4 die in nation’s Capital, Maryland and power is blacked out in the Carolinas. Turnpike and Interstates are shut down in Pennsylvania.

Sleet and freezing rain iced roads in the East on Monday, shutting down mass transit and highways for thousands during the morning rush hour, sending cars and trucks sliding and blacking out parts of the Carolinas.

Slippery pavement was blamed for three deaths Monday in Maryland and one in the District of Columbia.

Pennsylvania transportation officials said salt trucks had trouble getting through because of accidents and traffic jams, and crews had trouble getting to the trucks to get them out on the roads. Sections of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstates 76, 83, 81 and 95 were closed for salting or to clear wrecks.

“Nothing is moving,” said Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Charles Rodgers in Philadelphia.

Bus service for 12,000 commuters at Harrisburg, Pa., was suspended because of icy roads.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority reported major delays during the morning on its trains, buses and trolleys around Philadelphia, partly because transit workers were unable to get to work. Its Frontier Division, serving 13,000 riders in the northwestern suburbs, was completely shut down, said SEPTA spokesman Jim Whittaker.

A bus slid into a curb and overturned on an icy bridge at Wilmington, Del., slightly injuring the driver and 44 passengers, state police said. The Carolina Trailways bus was en route from Norfolk, Va., to New York, said Cecil Lee, safety director for the company in Raleigh, N.C.

Delaware police said there were five other accidents on that bridge at the same time, none serious.

New Jersey state Trooper Lee Hendrickson said he was unsure how many accidents had occurred in the Newark area because troopers were having a difficult time getting to them.

“Things aren’t moving out there at all,” he said. “It’s just crazy with all the fender-benders.”

Some New Jersey commuters were unable to get to work in New York City.

The ice also brought down tree branches that broke power lines. About 12,000 customers were without electricity by midday in North Carolina, down from 50,000, said Duke Power spokesman Randy Wheeless. More than 18,000 South Carolina customers were without power, he said.

North Carolina police reported hundreds of traffic accidents.

In the West, slippery roads were blamed for one death in Arizona, where ice shut a highway. Blowing snow closed sections of major highways in Washington and up to 18 inches of snow fell overnight at Utah’s Brian Head ski resort, the National Weather Service said.

In northern Arizona, a 91-mile stretch of I-40 between Flagstaff and Winslow was closed for 5 1/2 hours after ice caused numerous accidents, including the fatality and a chain-reaction wreck involving 20 vehicles.

The Washington State Patrol closed a seven-mile section of Interstate 90 east of Spokane during the morning because of blowing and drifting snow. More than 4 inches of snow fell on northeastern Washington and northern Idaho during the night. Sections of some state highways also were closed.