Freezing temperatures and a soaking morning rain Sunday caused a rash of traffic accidents across Lancaster County, including one fatality.

A shift supervisor with Lancaster County-Wide Communications said there were more than 100 calls reporting accidents between 7:30 and 9:45 a.m.

Most of those accidents were weather-related, she said.

Howard J. Fisher, 80, of Sinking Springs, died after he lost control of his Buick sedan and struck a tree around 8:45 a.m. in the 500 block of North Ridge Road, East Cocalico Township.

Police said Fisher's vehicle spun on the road which was slick due to ice.

He suffered traumatic injuries and was transported to Reading Hospital, where he later died, police said.

East Cocalico police reported 15 accidents due to icy roads between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Lancaster County was drenched by a about a half an inch of rain Sunday.

National Weather Service forecaster Kevin Fitzgerald said that from the time the rain started falling in the county around 7 a.m. until the time it ended around 3 p.m., temperatures hovered near the freezing mark.

"There were probably some places where it was a degree above freezing and others where it was a degree below," he said.

Although that weather pattern lasted from the morning through late afternoon, most of the ice-related crashes occurred in the morning.

Following is a partial list of some of the accidents reported Sunday morning:

• Nathan Hochstetler, 32, of New Holland, escaped injury after his 2002 GMC hit an icy patch of Route 322 near South Churchtown Road in Salisbury Township at 8 a.m.

Hochstetler's vehicle slid across the westbound lane and struck a utility pole.

• Ephraim Stoltzfus was driving a Dodge Caravan in the 700 block of Peters Road, Earl Township, at 8:40 a.m., when the van hit a patch of ice, causing Stoltzfus to lose control of the vehicle.

The van skidded off the road and flipped over onto its roof before coming to rest in a field.

Stoltzfus was not injured. New Holland police cited him for driving at an unsafe speed.

• Donald E. Steffy, 38, of East Earl, was driving west on Martindale Road in Earl Township around 8:45 a.m., when his vehicle hit a patch of ice and swerved into the eastbound lane.

Steffy's vehicle crashed into a horse-drawn buggy driven by Amos Zimmerman, 32, of Ephrata. The buggy was not driveable, but no one was injured in the crash. The horse survived.

• Doris Hertzog, 63, of Narvon, was driving north on Narvon Road in Caernarvon Township at 8:54 a.m. when her 1998 Mazda hit some ice.

The vehicle skidded across the opposing lane and went off the road, before it came to rest on some large boulders.

Hertzog and her passenger, Vickie Allison, 43, of Narvon, both were taken to Reading Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Fitzgerald said Lancaster County should warm up a bit today and tomorrow, when daytime highs could approach 50 degrees.

Rain is forecast for Tuesday and is expected to be followed by a return to more normal temperatures through the end of the week, with highs in the upper 30s and overnight lows in the 20s.

Jennifer Todd contributed to this report.

preilly@lnpnews.com