A trip on the stretch of Route 903 known as Kattner’s Mountain in Jim Thorpe can turn into a nightmare in an instant.

The danger was on full display Saturday morning when Revonna Fenstermaker, 24, of Lansford died after her Ford slid on a patch of black ice and was struck by an oncoming vehicle.

The other driver, Sierra Hunsicker, 22, of Jim Thorpe, was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries.

While the severity of the crash was extreme, it’s far from the first time authorities have responded to the location.

“It definitely has its share of accidents,” Jim Thorpe Police Chief Joe Schatz said of Kattner’s Mountain.

Road has been a problem

Since the beginning of the year, Jim Thorpe police have responded to four crashes on the mountain, including the fatality.

Of the other three crashes, two ended with injuries to at least one of the people involved.

Following the crash, readers shared their take on Kattner’s Mountain on the Times News Facebook page.

“I came through there last night around 11:30 and the water was running across the road, and freezing everywhere,” Paul Junior posted Saturday afternoon. “Why is there not proper drainage under 903 at that location? It’s been like that for some time. Someone has now died because of it.”

Being a state road, Route 903 is treated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the agency is notified each time an incident takes place.

“They salt and they do the best they can, but it’s just a tricky situation,” Schatz said.

Keeping the road clear is no easy task.

“I’m up and down more than once a day on this road. It’s runoff, I do see the salt trucks out, but I’m sure the constant water flow just rinses the salt away,” posted Michelle Stein-Schaeffer. “I wish they’d have a real fix for it. I’m sure it’s tough to direct runoff.”

PennDOT spokesman Ron Young said water runoff is an issue on any state road along a mountainside.

“During winter, PennDOT crews patrol areas of known water runoff and treat any resultant ice at these locations,” Young said. “Runoff causing ice and/or black ice can be hard to combat, as additional runoff can wash away recently placed salt, resulting in ice forming again. The PennDOT Carbon County Maintenance office patrols this section of Route 903, as well as other known runoff areas, more frequently when it rains or when there are times of snow and ice melt.”

While black ice was at the center of Saturday’s crash, there are many other factors drivers should be aware of when traversing the mountain.

“The thing is it’s not just black ice,” Schatz said. “You have water runoff, rocks on the road and deer you have to be aware of as well. There are hazards up there no matter what time of the year it is.”

Navigate with caution

Kattner’s Mountain is the main thoroughfare from the east side of Jim Thorpe to Penn Forest Township and is heavily traveled, including by school buses.

Jim Thorpe School District officials do not turn a blind eye to the dangers.

“It is understood by most residents that Kattner’s Mountain has the potential of hazardous conditions in all seasons, especially the winter months,” Superintendent Brian Gasper said. “Due to Route 903 being a main road in our district, our vans and buses need to utilize it to efficiently transport our students to and from school. All of our drivers and those of our bus contractors are aware of the challenges that it might bring and adjust their driving accordingly. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to navigate around it, but plan and adjust for the conditions we might encounter.”

Speed can be an issue

“Unfortunately people don’t realize it is not a raceway,” Schatz said. “I was traveling it in my personal vehicle the other day and I got passed. People have to use caution.”

Jim Thorpe police patrol the road, but in the trickiest stretches, it can be hard to get a good speed reading.

“Not having the ability to use radar, we’re using a Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder, and the sight lines make that very difficult,” Schatz said. “We patrol it from the bottom and state police get it from the top. From time to time we have gotten aggressive driving grants and we do get a lot of citations there.”