Monday, March 7, 4:00 p.m.
By Norm Jones
Home is a Magnet for Cars
A man from Lycoming County calls his home a magnet for car crashes and it has him calling for help.
For years, Steve Prince has lived in fear, wondering when the next car would crash into his home near Montgomery. After two crashes this weekend, he's had enough and is begging for help.
"A bang, the house shakes, you don't know what happened, wait, you know what happened because we know the sound by now," said Prince.
His deck is in splinters after it was ripped from the foundation after a Friday night crash. A pick-up truck slammed into his house and ripped the front end right off his red truck. That's not the only damage. Another car slammed into the house the very next night. "You hear a screeching noise and then silence. I think that's the coming through the snow and then you just, you're waiting," described Prince.
He couldn't believe he'd been hit again. "Twice this weekend, back to back nights by two different drunk drivers," he added.
Montgomery Police confirm they think both drivers were drinking. Investigators are waiting for blood alcohol tests.
"There shouldn't have to be a fatality before I can get somebody to do something," said the homeowner. He said he's tried to get PennDOT to put in guide rails along the stretch of Route 405 near his home but PennDOT said it's only planning on signs and rumble strips.
Clinton Township Fire Chief Todd Winder wants more than that. "It's not going to protect them. They need some sort of barrier, either a guide rail or a concrete barrier along the road to keep cars from hitting his home," the chief said.
PennDOT plans those signs and rumble strips for later this year. A spokesperson said it won't install guide rails because it's not PennDOT's responsibility to protect personal property. The Princes said they won't give up.
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I honestly can't belive PENNDOT has such a policy. We fought for sometime to get a guardrail up next to our house, because we almost had a car come down off the hill and almost ran straight into our home. Not a pretty thing to see when you have a 6 and 15 year old at the time. :evil:
