Details released on Mansion House crashes
Mahoning Township Police Chief Kenneth J. Barnes has released details of recent ice-related crashes on Mansion House Hill on Route 209.
On Dec. 13 at about 8 p.m. and 11:49 p.m., police responded to the accidents. The first accident happened when a vehicle traveling up the hill out of Jim Thorpe went out of control on the ice, spun around several times and then crashed into the side of the mountain. Three people were in the vehicle, a husband, wife and small child. The woman sustained a knee injury and was transported to Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital, Lehighton. The road was shut down between Jim Thorpe and Oak Drive in Mahoning Township for about an hour while the state Department of Transportation plowed and salted the highway.
In the second accident, a vehicle was heading down the hill toward Jim Thorpe when it hit the ice, slid across the highway into the opposite lane of traffic and then hit the electronic sign board/machine erected by PennDOT warning motorists to slow down because the roads may be icy.
The force of the impact drove the extended trailer hitch portion of the sign directly through the passenger door of the car and across the passenger seating area. PennDOT was again called out and the road was closed for almost two hours.
