x
Breaking News
More () »

More Truck Safety on Shenandoah Mountain

PennDOT put up signs Friday in Schuylkill County warning drivers of a dangerous mountainside, specifically truck drivers with a heavy load coming down off a ste...

PennDOT put up signs Friday in Schuylkill County warning drivers of a dangerous mountainside, specifically truck drivers with a heavy load coming down off a steep mountain from Shenandoah.

The latest deadly truck crash on Route 924 near Shenandoah was in February.  A trucker apparently lost his brakes coming down the steep grade and rolled the rig when trying to maneuver it through a sharp turn.

New signs were erected by PennDOT crews after the coroner complained that truckers were not being warned enough about the steep mountainside.

Dr. David Moylan said he  is pleased the state made the changes.  "Tough cases make good laws often times and if it solves the problem, we're happy.  This is the vision of my job as coroner is to bring things that are reoccurring to save people`s lives," Moylan said.

PennDOT said over a 10 year period there has been an accident here at the intersection of Route 924 and Route 339 on average of one a year. The common denominator was speed.

Neighbor Francis Layton said he has seen speed in action  "They're coming down and pulling into the parking lot of the fire house with their brakes smoking they are not braking down or gearing down and by the time they get to the bottom their brakes are red hot," Layton said. He added he will never forget the latest truck crash.  "His widow was here the other Saturday and she was wondering if he suffered. I assured her that he died instantly because when I got there there was no signs of life."

Officials and neighbors hope the new signs save lives.

Before You Leave, Check This Out