PennDOT put up signs last week in Schuylkill County, PA, warning drivers of a dangerous mountainside, specifically truck drivers with a heavy load coming down off a steep mountain from Shenandoah, according to a WNEP News report.
The signs were in response to a number of truck crashes at the intersection of Route 924 and Route 339. 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.
PennDOT said over a 10-year period there has been a truck accident on Route 924 at least once a year. The common denominator was speed.
Neighbor Francis Layton said he was a witness to the February crash and that speeding trucks are a regular problem on the highway.
“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.
The new signs were erected by PennDOT crews after the coroner complained that truckers were not being given enough warning about the steep mountainside.
