"We heard a big thump!" says John Allen, as he shows FOX 29's Bruce Gordon around the wreckage of his backyard in Warminster.
Allen was describing the SUV that crashed through there in the pre-dawn hours of December 26- the fifth time errant drivers have come calling since the late 1970s and the fourth time since 2005.
The crashes are so frequent, Allen has installed metal bollards, a wooden fence and a row of Poplar trees to slow down the misguided vehicles.
"I'm glad the tree was here to stop 'em!" says Allen, although the tree clipped the gutter on the back of his house when it crashed down after being struck by the SUV.
Allen's house sits at the end of a dentist's office parking lot that is perfectly aligned with a ‘T' intersection along the border of Montgomery County and Bucks County.
Where Meetinghouse Road dead ends into County Line, confused motorists may think the parking lot is a continuation of Meetinghouse.
It isn't.
Allen says he's reached out to township officials, county officials and PennDOT for help getting improved signage or something to block those errant vehicles from crashing onto his property.
"The sense I get is that they'd rather I didn't bother them. My wife is scared to death. She won't sleep- she sleeps downstairs for her back on the couch. She won't sleep downstairs anymore," because she's afraid of a car coming through the back wall of their home.
It's gotten so bad, Allen's taken to parking his car at the end of the dentist's office parking lot overnight- with reflectors taped onto the windows- hoping errant drivers will stop in time- or hit the car and not his house.
Finally, he called FOX 29.
"I'm desperate! I'll reach out to anybody!!"
Gordon spent the afternoon on the phone, first with PennDOT officials, and then with Warminster's township manager. Warminster officials have agreed to request that PennDOT install large, new signs at the entrance to that dentist's office, reminding drivers that it's a parking lot- not a road.
PennDOT officials have told Gordon they will consider such a request, and seemed to agree that improved signage just might keep traffic out of Allen's yard.
We'll keep you posted.
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Metal bollards are seen outside of John Allen's home. Allen says he installed them with the hope of slowing down the misguided vehicles.
