Lilley Farm House crashes not uncommon

Jun 7, 2023

Submitted photoDebris from the 18-wheeler crash at the Lilley Farm house in Port Royal.

PORT ROYAL — It's not everyday you come home from work and find an 18-wheel tractor trailer sitting in the remnants of your living room.

For Matt and Jenifer Lilley of Port Royal, it's a scenario that's played out far too often over the past three years.

An accident Monday afternoon, which saw an 18-wheeler crash into the Turbett Township farmhouse, located at the base of Tuscarora Mountain along Route 74, was by far the worst.

"Most of the time we find out about these accidents on Facebook," Jenifer said. "Everybody's on social media. So, then everyone starts calling and texting me."

Before Monday, there had been two or three episodes in recent memory.

When Matt called Jenifer's phone as she was driving home from teaching at Mifflin County Junior High School around 3:45 p.m., she quickly realized that this accident was much different. The 18-wheeler had rolled into their brick farmhouse, which is located on a 90-degree turn at the bottom of the mountain.

The tractor-trailer was carrying peanut butter-filled pretzels.

The Lilley Farm house is divided into two residences — one for Matt and Jenifer and a second for Mike Lilley, Matt's brother. Most of the damage was on Mike's side of the home. "Matt called and said there's an 18-wheeler sitting in Mike's living room," Jenifer recalled.

"People are always coming through here (very fast)," she added. "We’ve been hit several times, but never to this extent."

Fortunately, no one was home at the time of the incident. Matt was at work at the Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg. His brother Mike, who handles most of the farming responsibilities, was also down the road at the time.

Jenifer said the farmhouse was built in the mid-1800s. "When it was built, horse and buggy didn't travel as fast as truck and trailer," she posted on social media.

"Everyone is safe … the house, not so much," she added. "The house is literally destroyed." The Lilleys are waiting for an engineer to evaluate the structural soundness of the home.

Matt's family first moved into the house, which was part of a dairy farm, in 1964. After his grandmother passed away, Matt and Jenifer moved in 2010 and have since renovated the interior.

"We’ve sunk a lot of time, hard work and money in this place," Jenifer said.

Over the years, extensive work has also been done on the exterior.

The truck broke through the living room wall and damaged the outside wall of the bedroom on the second floor. The first floor was covered with bricks from the structure.

"People think they can make that turn," Jenifer said. "They don't slow down. He missed the curb and the truck started to flip. The trailer slide into the corner of the house and the truck flipped over."

The Lilley's farm truck was parked in the driveway and was tossed about 15 to 20 feet into the house.

Jenifer said the driver of the 18-wheeler was pinned in the crash, suffered broken legs and had to be life-flighted.

The Friendship Fire Co. No. 1 of Port Royal, responded along with Mifflintown Hose Rescue No. 2, Beale Township Fire Co. No. 5, Ickesburg Fire Co. No. 3 and Port Royal EMS.

According to the Friendship Fire Co. Facebook page, where an account of the accident had been posted, fire responders confirmed an entrapment with an active fuel or oil leak when they arrived on the scene.

Fire responders worked for a little under an hour to remove the trapped driver. Once their rescue was completed, they worked to stabilize the house due to the truck knocking out a section of the load-bearing wall.

"You can feel the house vibrate," Jenifer said. "The contractor told us, ‘Don't move a brick until they (engineer) send someone out there to see if the house is structurally sound."

Rock Lane Construction LLC of Port Royal also assisted with stabilizing the structure and Parson's Towing of Lewistown assisted with cleanup and played a major part with the extrication, the account said.

"This is a historical home — a family legacy — we’ve invested in and restored," Jenifer said. "We’ve taken a lot of pride in it and now it's ruined. But blessings, upon blessings because we are all alive."

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