Flaming Car Crashes Into Pennsylvania Home

Nov. 05--SHAMOKIN -- A 25-year-old Paxinos driver was injured early Friday when his car veered off Upper Road in East Cameron Township, struck a tree and burst into flames as it hit a house.

The accident on State Road 2044 angered area residents, who said cars frequently speed along the road, which has no posted speed limit.

At about 5 a.m. Friday, Marc Albertini was traveling west on State Road 2044, about 10 miles south of Shamokin, when his white 1999 Dodge Neon crossed into the eastbound lane, left the road and hit a tree on the property of 6586 Upper Road, state police at Stonington reported.

Albertini's car hit the tree broadside on the passenger side, spun clockwise and stopped against the house of Jason and Rosanna Bull. The car then began to burn, a fire that ignited and destroyed the house.

"We heard this very loud bang," Jason Bull said Friday morning, standing outside the home where the wreckage of Albertini's vehicle sat along the side where it hit. Lingering smoke came from the roof and a charred smell hung in the cool morning air.

"I left a ladder on the roof, and I thought it fell off," he said. "I got up and went outside to see this orange glow next to the house."

The Bulls grabbed their three dogs and fled the home, which soon caught fire, Jason Bull said. They were not injured by the fire nor the crash.

East Cameron Fire, Coat Township Fire, Mount Carmel Fire, Schuylkill County Fire and Overlook Fire responded.

Albertini was taken via Area Ambulance Services to Shamokin Area Community Hospital, where he was treated and released.

State police have charged him in violation of roadways laned for traffic. The investigation into the accident continues, state police said; no information was available at deadline as to what caused Albertini to lose control of the car. There were no visible skid marks on the road in front of the house.

Linda and Bob Kahler, friends of the family and owners of Kahlers' Gun Shop about 10 miles east of the Bulls' home, stopped by the scene Friday morning. They said cars traveling Upper Road at a high speed is a regular problem, and they are surprised such a spectacular crash hasn't happened already.

"It's sad, very sad," Linda Kahler said. "They fly through here like it's nobody's business."

"This just (angers me)," Bob Kahler said. "No one can pull out or back out of their driveway without taking a chance on getting slammed or pasted by one of these cars. This has gone on for years."

The "basic speed rule" for Pennsylvania states no one shall drive a vehicle at a speed "greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing."

Pennsylvania's statutory speed limit is 65 mph on certain interstate highways and freeways, 55 mph on other highways.

There is no posted speed limit on the road where the accident occurred until a driver gets closer to Gowen City or other residential area, where the speed limit is 40 mph.

The Bulls had lived in the house at 6586 Upper Road for about three years, Jason Bull said. The home formerly belonged to Rosanne Bull's grandmother and was at least 50 years old.

It was unknown at deadline whether the Bulls' home is insured. The couple had married in May.