ALLENTOWN, Pa. — At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Allentown Police Department posted a warning from its chief on its Facebook site:
“Third and Union Street … road closed … flooding … barricades are up … stay clear of the area.”
An hour later, those warnings went unheeded.
A motorist was stranded in his Toyota minivan after trying to drive through about 3 feet of water that had accumulated on the roadway from the overnight storm.
"The stupidity is just amazing.”Jimmie Gilligan, Allentown, on motorists who attempt to drive through deep water on roadways
The situation required responses from the fire company, police and paramedics.
The driver, who was unharmed, was assessed three moving violations, Mayor Matt Tuerk said on X (formerly Twitter) early Thursday. One of them carried a fine of $150 plus court costs for violating Code 311A — failure to obey a traffic control device — in this case sawhorse barricades.
Tuerk said the city ended up deploying public works trucks to block the roads.
"It is significantly more difficult to drive around a 12-ton truck, and much dumber to try," he said.
Allentown Police Capt. Christopher Diehl said the cost of three citations would be in the range of $300-$1,000 depending on the violations with all costs included.
"Each incident where citations are issued is different and doesn’t necessarily have a standard amount of citations being issued per incident. Officers have discretion on issuing citations as well as the number of citations issued as well," he said.
Despite similar warnings prior to the storm that dumped up to 3 inches of rain in the Lehigh Valley, there were other instances in which drivers needed to be rescued from their vehicles after they stalled out in deep water.
A car remained trapped in floodwaters on Lehigh Drive near the Glendon Bridge on Wednesday.
Much of the street near Hugh Moore Park was still submerged, with the river lapping at nearby homes.
The intersection at Second and Hamilton streets was further congested because workers were repairing traffic signals rendered inoperable by the storm.
On Tuesday evening, Upper Milford Township Fire Company safely rescued a driver whose car stalled in deep water on Indian Creek Road, officials said.
The flooding at 3rd and Union required traffic to be rerouted, creating delays for several blocks.
“I just don’t know what’s wrong with some people,” Jimmie Gilligan, of Allentown, said as he watched the stranded minivan from a parking lot high above the intersection of Third and Union.
“Look at all the emergency vehicles that had to come here because he thought he could drive through essentially a lake. The stupidity is just amazing.”
From the insurance point of view, this has happened before.
"I’ve seen this happen more than a time or two in my 26 years of being an agent," said Donna Hosfeld of Hosfeld Insurance in Alburtis.
"And, yes, it is covered under comprehensive coverage on the auto policy.
"Most times, folks don’t realize how deep it is. And once they’re into it, they’re into it. It’s not that easy to “back up or back out” of it.
"Locally, we have a lot of volunteer fire companies who are challenged with finding folks to help provide these services to our communities. There are only so many of them and they can’t be everywhere. That’s why it’s becoming more important for all of us to 'manage the risk' by avoiding it, limiting it, and handling it ourselves.
"Sometimes staying home is the wise choice. Let’s recognize that," Hosfeld said.
Impacts of storm remain
Impacts from flooding were visible across Northampton County on Wednesday, even as the worst predictions for the previous day’s storms did not come to pass.
The Lehigh River overtopped its banks near Glendon about 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to National Weather Service data.
The river’s level appeared on track to start receding Wednesday afternoon.
The Lehigh also reached flood levels near Walnutport, peaking about 8 a.m.
Northampton County 911 call volume Tuesday was “steady overnight but not high.”Northampton County spokeswoman Brittney Waylen
In Bethlehem, the river only reached the “action” stage, according to the Weather Service, indicating the water level was not yet causing risk to lives and property but warrants a response from officials and residents.
Forks Township Fire Department rescued one person who had driven into floodwaters Tuesday night at Bushkill Drive and Zucksville Road, then flooded by Bushkill Creek.
Water had receded from the intersection by Wednesday morning, though a low-lying section of Zucksville Road remained closed.
Northampton County spokeswoman Brittney Waylen wrote in an email that 911 call volume Tuesday was “steady overnight but not high.”
Waylen said first responders conducted three water rescues, all from vehicles driving through flooded roadways.
As of Wednesday afternoon, about 1100 people in Northampton County still were without power.
Waylen said that was fewer than county officials had feared, as the strongest winds forecasted for Tuesday never materialized.
The Delaware River appeared noticeably swollen at Easton on Wednesday, but within its normal range according to the National Weather Service.
Flooding comes courtesy of heavy rain Tuesday, combined with melting snow left over from weekend storms.
'Please give them a break'
Lehigh County Commissioner Ron Beitler posted a similar warning on his Facebook site early Wednesday morning:
“Volunteer firefighters have been out all night in the cold away from families performing water rescues. Can we please give them a break this morning and stop doing stupid things. Every flood, despite warnings, people continue to drive in flood waters.”Lehigh County Commissioner Ron Beitler
“Volunteer firefighters have been out all night in the cold away from families performing water rescues," Beitler wrote.
"Can we please give them a break this morning and stop doing stupid things. Every flood, despite warnings, people continue to drive in flood waters.”
The driver of the Toyota minivan proved Beitler's closing sentence right.
Here is a list, as of 11 a.m., of road closures in Lehigh County:
Upper Macungie Township: Cetronia Road between Grange Road and Trexlertown Road; Cetronia Road between Trexlertown Road and Schantz Road.
Lower Macungie Township: Spring Creek Road at Mill Creek Road; Mertztown Road at Butz Road; Spring Creek Road between Trexlertown Road and Mill Creek Road; Mertztown Road between Butz and Hilltop Road.
Lower Saucon Township: Seidersville Road between Route 378 and Hickory Hill Road; Lower Saucon Road between Buttermilk Road and Tumble Creek Road; Riverside Drive between Jefferson Avenue and Redington Road.
Upper Milford Township: Indian Creek Road Between Olympic Drive and South Cedar Crest Boulevard.
