An early morning collision involving two semis on icy Interstate 94 west of Valley City killed the driver of one of the semis and snarled traffic for hours.

The Highway Patrol identified the victim as Dwayne Donouden, 42, of Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Authorities said Donouden was standing beside his parked semi along the interstate, about 16 miles west of Valley City, when another semi skidded as it slowed on the icy road about 6 a.m. and jackknifed.

Donouden was standing on the right side of his trailer at the time of the collision and was thrown under it as it slid into the ditch, the patrol said.

The other semi wound up across the eastbound lane of the interstate, backing up traffic for miles. The driver, Vincent Ferguson, 51, of Philadelphia, and a passenger, Treva Erry, 52, of St. Paul, Minn., were not hurt, authorities said.

One lane of the interstate at the crash scene reopened at midmorning, and both lanes were open at noon, the patrol said.

The National Weather Service said the snow that hit the state was expected to diminish Tuesday, with total amounts in the eastern part of the state ranging from 2 inches to 5 inches. Records were set in Grand Forks and Bismarck over the past three days.

Grand Forks got a record 5.2 inches of snow Tuesday, topping the 3.3 inch mark set in 1993, the weather service said.

Bismarck set a record with 3.4 inches of snow on Monday, about an inch more than the record set in 1932. The city had 6 inches on the ground Tuesday afternoon, with light snow continuing.

"We don't expect a lot more accumulation overnight," said meteorologist Jim Fors, at the weather service in Bismarck.

Highs today were expected in the teens, with some warming by the weekend, he said.

Other snow reports in the western part of the state Tuesday included 8 inches on the ground at Ashley and at Killdeer, 7 inches at Stanley and at Flasher, 6 inches at Lansford, and 5 inches at Carrington and at the Minot experiment station.

In the east, the weather service reported 41/2 inches at Wahpeton, 21/2 inches at Devils Lake and 2 inches at Fargo and at Valley City.