UPDATE: Stranded Jesse Jackson coalition member calls I-65 mess 'unconscionable'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A senior adviser to community activist Jesse Jackson called the traffic backup on I-65 in Hardin County, Kentucky "unconscionable" Thursday afternoon.

Janette Wilson, a member of Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition spoke with WDRB's Rachel Collier from a bus trapped in the traffic. Wilson said that she and seven other coalition members -- including Jackson's wife -- had barely moved since 2:30 a.m., while others had been trapped since 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The account handle @RevJJackson -- which is the reverend's official Twitter account, according to The Rainbow PUSH Coalition's Web site -- tweeted the news just before 10 a.m.

"Many people along w/ my wife & @RPCoalition staff members stuck on I-65 in Kentucky since 2:30am. Elizabethtown @CNN pic.twitter.com/f01JePSQwz," Jackson tweeted.

"There are several vehicles that are stranded on I-65 and have been stranded – many of them – since 9 p.m. yesterday, and we just are moving slightly, only slightly today," Wilson told WDRB's Rachel Collier. "We've had no communication from any official representatives of the state or local government officials. We were just sitting here with no mention, until later this morning, that we were even stranded. No emergency vehicles. We didn't see any snow plows until almost 11 a.m. today."

"It just says, as a nation, we are not prepared for these natural disasters," she added. "We don't have a plan of action to respond effectively. I mean, people were in cars and running out of gas with no resources made available to them. No emergency vehicles in sight, and no communication from the official representatives of the state or the county or the city."

"Some of us have run out of food and clothes," Wilson said. "McDonald's closed. People were running out of gas, and there's no resources sent to the motorists to assist them. Many people have children. We don't know what elderly on this highway. There has been no real assessment of the needs of the people. We did not see an ambulance until an hour ago."

Wilson said that she and her colleagues were uninjured, but criticized state and local governments for not doing more.

"We're fine – but it's very frustrating because there has been no visible communication from the state or local authorities to even come by to see what the needs of the motorists are."

"Like yesterday – they could have told us not to go further on I-65, because apparently, this started at 9 p.m. yesterday. They should have stopped motorists from continuing on I-65. That's what I'm saying: this is unconscionable and unnecessary."

She also said she plans to use her voice to raise awareness of the issue of the government's preparedness for severe weather -- when she can.

"We can't do a lot because we're still stranded right now, but when we reach an appropriate location, of course," she said. "There's no excuse for people to have been stranded at 9 p.m., and then others come the same route and get stranded at 2:30 a.m. with no communication saying, 'Don't go any further.'"

She also called on WDRB viewers to help the people who are still stranded on I-65.

"I would just hope that you would contact the governor's office, the county where we are and see if we can get some resources, because we're still not moving at any normal pace. And there are still – the snow removal is not happening."