Neighbors hope to address ‘dangerous’ intersection in Winfield Township
The life of the Snow family of Winfield Township was upended in late February when two vehicles crashed into their home after colliding with one other at an intersection that features a two-way stop sign.
“I heard the sound of a collision and ran to the front window. I then watched as the truck involved came across my driveway and hit the house,” said Olivia Snow, who was home at the time of the crash.
While the crash was a shock to the Snow family, it came as no surprise to the Snows’ neighbor, Gary Matassa, who says that the intersection of Winfield and Bear Creek roads has been a trouble spot for decades.
“My former neighbor was there for 50 years, and she saw tons of accidents there that took out trees,” Matassa said. “It’s really bad.
“Someone’s going to get killed.”
Snow and her husband, Steve, recalled calling emergency services and running outside to ensure the driver in the truck was safe.
“We are holding up fine. No one was hurt,” Steve said.
The damage to the Snow’s red brick home, however still was visible in early March. A few bricks that had been on one side of a staircase were knocked loose. The Snows piled them nearby and have yet to repair the exterior space.
Following the February crash, Matassa began to sound the alarm.
He said he doesn’t want to see someone die at the Winfield Township intersection.
He began calling the office of state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, about the situation and demanding that the state begin proceedings to place a stop sign there to reduce the risk of future crashes.
“I called Mustello at her office, and I talked to somebody at her office, and they said they were going to call PennDOT and have them call me,” Matassa said.
Matassa said that the intersection of Winfield and Bear Creek roads is no stranger to crashes, such as the one that impacted his neighbor’s house. In fact, the previous year, Matassa says he saw a pickup truck flip upside down in nearly the same spot.
“My neighbor ... I called him and said, ‘Hey, are you in the house in front right now? Because there’s a pickup truck upside down in your front yard,’” he recalled.
The Snows, who moved into their home in April 2024, have been warned about the intersection.
“Several neighbors indicated this is at least a yearly occurrence to have an accident in this intersection,” Steven Snow said. “This would be the first time one of the vehicles hit our house.”
Matassa said he believes that the problems at the intersection are caused by combination of a blind spot and excessive speed.
“It's the speed at which people travel on Winfield Road and then pulling out from Bear Creek Road,” Matassa said. “It's just that there's a blind spot. People pull out from that Bear Creek intersection and just do not see the traffic coming.”
Winfield Township supervisor Matthew Klabnik said that both PennDOT and the township are taking some steps toward addressing the problem, as representatives from PennDOT came over from Indiana, PA to inspect the intersection on Tuesday, March 4.
“The engineers are going to come down on Tuesday to look at the situation,” Klabnik said last week. “It’s just an initial look to see what the possibilities are.”
Klabnik says the meeting came about due to the actions of Matassa and other residents who live nearby.
“This, I would say, is due to the actions of the local residents at that intersection, reaching out to the state rep. and getting PennDOT involved,” Klabnik said.
However, Klabnik said there would be many hoops to jump through before the intersection sees any major changes, such as a new stop sign.
“Any change like that is going to require an engineering study, and then design, and then budgeting and all that,” Klabnik said.
The intersection has a two-way stop, not a four-way stop, and only applies to Bear Creek Road, not Winfield Road.
Although the crash that affected the Snow house occurred in late February, Matassa said he believes the risk of a crash increases in the middle of the year when nearby Ambrose Farm Market opens for the season, putting more cars on the road.
“Ideally, there would be some rumble strips, or something like flashing yellow lights,” Matassa said. “Something needs to be done.”
