Franklin Township resident Jason Eidem addressed the borough council meeting on Tuesday about an incident involving three tractor-trailers at his home at the intersection of Long Run Road and Canal Street.

On Aug. 8 at 3:44 a.m., two trucks that were transporting items for Walmart struck Eidem’s home, causing damage to the house and property.

Jason Eidem was asleep on a sofa with his 8-year-old son.

“I woke up to the house shaking, with him (my son) jumping on top of me, screaming for his daddy.”

“When the second truck hit the house, it shook. I was in the street in just seconds. I stopped the third truck. The other two were going so fast, I could hear those engines screaming, going through the light at 209 and 248.”

The first two trucks never stopped, according to video feed provided by Eidem. In the video, the two tractor-trailers with “Walmart.com” on their sides struck Eidem’s home as they turned off Long Run Road onto Canal Street and drove away.

Another problem Eidem reported was that he was unable to get the police to respond.

“I couldn’t get any police,” Eidem recounted. “I called 911, I was transferred to the Pennsylvania State Police, and they said, ‘We’re not coming.’?”

Because of a shortage of police officers in several communities in the area, 911 calls sometimes need to be routed to the state police.

The extra traffic at the time was due to vehicles being diverted from the Pennsylvania Turnpike due to an accident, and the turnpike was shut down. The trucks came off the turnpike on Route 903, came down Maury Road, then turned right onto Long Run Road.

“We as a township should realize that when there’s an issue with the turnpike being shut down, and they’re pushing people down Maury Road,” borough council President Fred Kemmerer Jr. said. “What we need to do is, when we know there’s an emergency like that, we should maybe reach out to the fire police and post someone there (at the Maury Road/Long Run Road intersection) just for the duration of the shutdown and make sure they’re not sending trucks down Long Run Road or Indian Hill.”

Some of the traffic issues were discussed with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation this past October.

“As a board,” Kemmerer said, “I suggest one of us reach out to the state and say, ‘Look, where are we with these issues, and what do we still have to accomplish them, because the issues are not solved.’ And what we’ll do in short term, we’ll set up a date within the next week to revisit this as a township with the main players from the state.”

It was suggested that representatives from Penn Forest Township attend the meeting as well, as the upper part of Maury Road is in their jurisdiction, and to invite someone from Emergency Management to the meeting as well, to learn about their traffic detour plans for such emergencies.