SEATTLE - Western Washington now deals with one leftover from last night's icy commute: Abandoned cars.

Hundreds of drivers forced to leave their cars on the side of the road during last night's snowy commute are spending their Thursday trying to retrieve their frozen vehicles.  

Literally hundreds of abandoned vehicles litter Western Washington freeways, mostly on Seattle's Eastside.  A KING 5 News photographer counted 127 cars still parked along the side of SE Newport Way and Lakemont Blvd. SE on the Eastside Thursday morning, while scores of abandoned vehicles are still parked along I-90 at Sunset Way. 

Highlands Drive in Issaquah has been one big parking lot all day and tens of cars still remain near the corner of Lakemont and Newport Way in Bellevue. 

It's been a slow recovery process in part because tow truck drivers have been busy working double time. 

"(I'm) tired, hungry and sleepy," said one weary tow truck driver.  

Some cars are blocked in by other cars, while it's just plain tough to get around.  Side roads are treacherous, especially on the plateau.  Issaquah Beaver Lake Road, which takes people to Highway 202, has compact snow and ice. 228th, a main plateau thoroughfare, has slippery conditions, and Issaquah Fall City Road is frozen over. 

While it may seem convenient to leave vehicles where they are, one motorist reported that Bellevue Police called him this morning and told him to recover his car or it would be towed. The state patrol is also removing cars from the side of highways and freeways, systematically going through and seeing which ones are hazards or sticking into traffic.  

One transportation official estimated there were about 75 minor collisions east of Lake Washington on Interstates 405 and 90 and State Route 520 between 3 and 9 p.m. No serious injuries were reported. 

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Get them while you can: Transportation and law enforcement officials say they'll tow abandoned cars if drivers don't retrieve them soon.

"Wherever snow fell, accidents occurred," State Patrol Trooper Jeffrey L. Merrill said. 

One person died in one weather-related incident. In Kitsap County, across Puget Sound, Gemma Collins, 30, of Bremerton, died after her car skidded on ice into oncoming traffic and collided with a pickup truck on State Route 307, state troopers said. The pickup driver escaped injury. 

State ferry officials suspended vehicle service from West Seattle to Vashon Island for about an hour and a half because cars leaving the dock on the island were unable to get up the icy hill from the terminal, spokeswoman Susan Harris said. The restriction was lifted after the hill was sanded. 

South of Tacoma, snow accumulations were generally less than 2 inches, but the state Department of Transportation reported black ice and numerous collisions on Interstate 5 in the Chehalis and Toledo areas.