Woman killed after car slams into Franconia Township home

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (WTXF) - A woman has died after a car slammed into the front bedroom of a home in Franconia Township early Friday morning.

The crash occurred on the 300 block of Harleysville Pike just after midnight.

Tire tracks stretched well over the length of a football field marked the path of the 1995 Toyota as it careened across lawns.

Andy Tawney says his wife thought it was a blast.

"She thought it was a bomb going off. She really did. She was going 'Oh my God, wake up, a bomb just went off!'" Tawney said.

It was likely their trash buckets exploding from the car striking them as the car kept racing forward under a support for a telephone pole, past a large rock and into the side of the residence on Harleysville Pike, killing the 86-year-old woman sleeping inside.

"This is another tragic incident where someone has turned a vehicle into a lethal weapon," District Attorney for Montgomery County Kevin Steele said.

Steele said a 21-year-old male was at the wheel of the vehicle that was hauled away, the front end horribly smashed.

At mid-day April 6, the driver of the vehicle remained at Lehigh Valley Hospital, likely to undergo a blood test and questioning by investigators.

"When he hit the mailbox and trash can, when he first came off the road, you would have thought that would have slowed him down. And, the mud, the ground wasn't hard. I don't have any idea," neighbor Cynthia Chernuka said.

The gaping hole in the side of the home was sealed by daylight while a small group seemed to assess the home for damage.

There have been four accidents in 20 years of life in the rural, quiet township says a resident. Friday's accident the worst by far.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe that we had that happen. This is a really nice neighborhood. We really don't have things like this happen," Tawney said.