Pocono News Section

Truck Crashes Over Embankment

Truck Crashes Over Embankment - Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 5:00PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Thursday, Dec 10, 2009 @ 05:00pm EST
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, MONROE COUNTY - A truck careened off of Route 33, flew down an embankment and smashed through a business gate. It happened at about 9:30 Thursday morning in Hamilton Township on the Cherry Valley Vineyards property.

When Cherry Valley Vineyards owner Mary Sorrenti showed up to her winery Thursday, she found a truck had smashed through her gate. She said, "Somebody could have been killed."

The truck slid off the highway , screeched down this steep embankment, all the way across a parking lot and slammed into a tree. Sorrenti said, "If that tree didn't stop the truck I would have lost my complete inventory for the year."

This isn't the first time a vehicle slid off that exact spot on Route 33. In November 2008, a man's car smashed through the guard rail. The man was disoriented. He ran back into the road and was hit by a fire truck. "It's getting to be very traumatic for all of us here," remarked Sorrenti.

She started a petition to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation last year. It urges the department to build better guard rails and slow down traffic.

Monroe County PennDOT manager Robert Mudrick said he's listening and he'll try to find a solution. He said, "We're gonna talk about it and see maybe come up with some ways of notifying drivers that they should be slowing down."

Sorrenti hopes they do something soon because she's worried for the safety of herself and her business. She remarked, "If I wanted to be in a war zone I'd be over in Baghdad not Cherry Valley."

The truck driver and his passenger were taken to the hospital with moderate injuries. Police say the driver will be cited for driving unsafely.