RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) – Early Sunday morning, Daniel Tranchina and his family woke up to chaos just steps from their front door.
“I ran downstairs and looked outside and to my surprise there was a car upside down on the neighbor’s porch. Our car was missing and about 20 yards down the street, upside down and clearly a total loss,” Tranchina said. “It looked like a war zone.”
Ridley Township police say around 12:51 a.m. Sunday, a woman driving a Chevy Equinox southbound on Morton Avenue crashed into a Subaru, causing her vehicle to land on the Subaru. Ridley Township police officers at the scene detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the driver. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment of her ankle injury. Police are awaiting toxicology results and considering possible charges related to drunk driving.
That was just the first accident of the morning.
“We both woke up to another terrible noise and I said, ‘That must have been the prior’s dream,’” Tranchina said.
Just hours later, around 5:22 a.m., a second accident occurred when a man driving a blue van southbound on Morton Avenue was struck by another vehicle that ran a red light. The impact caused the driver of the van to collide with a traffic pole and the family’s tree.
“We just bought the house in July and unbeknownst to us, several accidents occurred at this intersection,” Tranchina said.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, a total of 32 accidents have occurred at the intersection of Morton and Swarthmore avenues since 2014.
“We literally went to bed last night wondering if there was going to be a vehicle in our house in the morning or in the middle of the night,” Tranchina said.
Tranchina hopes Ridley Township will install a guardrail to prevent future crashes.
“I hope the city will finally do something to help protect our property and our well-being,” Tranchina said.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the Township Board of Commissioners but has not heard back.
