This was previously published in our September 2025 issue.

Among the rubble and smoky debris of a shattered wall, a car sits lodged in the front room of a Lower Macungie house. The vehicle had smashed through the front window of the resident’s home with the homeowner still inside. The occupant, a woman in her 90s, was able to escape the scene before the fire ensued. Several neighbors responded to the commotion and assisted her out of the building.

The crash occurred Sept. 4 at 5:46 p.m. and quickly escalated. Within a matter of minutes, the house was ablaze. A 63-year-old woman driving a 2006 Subaru Forester was speeding at the time of the crash. Local residents were quick to respond, one bringing a fire extinguisher and racing to help the driver from her vehicle. Bystanders who happened to see the crash and jump into action, put their lives on the line by rescuing the driver from the car encased in debris and helped the homeowner to safety.

The thick black smoke and spitting flames caught the attention of an Emmaus High School student who was driving by the house with their mother on their way to a school sports practice. The student (who wishes to remain anonymous for privacy reasons) wasn’t present at the time of the crash, but that didn’t stop them from responding to the crisis and jumping into action. 

“There were these two cars pulled over to the right with their hazard [lights] on, and then we kept going, and the smoke got bigger. So, I was like ‘okay, this house is just on fire,’ so we pulled over and I got out of the car, called 911, and when I ran up to the house, there was a car in the house,” the EHS student said.

The student ran into the house with a neighbor and assisted the homeowner in escaping the home. The homeowner was confused, as she hadn’t realized what had happened.

“The neighbor went inside, grabbed the elderly lady that lived there, and we helped her grab her walker, [and] walked out of the house,” the student said. “When the car ran through the house, she was in her kitchen or the living room… she called her son and [said], ‘There’s smoke; I have no idea what’s happening. Fire alarms are going off, please help!’ then that’s when we went in and [said] ‘A car just went through your house,’” the student said.

After the student and neighbor safely assisted the homeowner away from the scene, the car continued to smoke. “I was walking out of the house, and [the car in the house] started sizzling. It would make little popping sounds,” the student said.

It was only moments after the student left the scene that the fire completely engulfed the home despite the pouring rain. Given the conditions on the day of the crash, EHS student claims there were many factors attributing to the incident.

“Supposedly, she was going 50 plus [miles per hour] and it’s raining, so my thought is she was going up Sauerkraut [Lane]… I think she hydroplaned” the student said. “Her wheels were [left-bound] and she went into the curb and got air and went into the house.”

With speculation that the speed of the vehicle was double that of the speed limit, many on Facebook believe a necessary action to prevent further issues in the future is speed bumps on the road. Though the idea has many split on whether the precaution would prove effective. Ryan Trexler, Fire Chief of Lower Macungie Fire Department, believes there are problems that might consequently arise from adding speed bumps.

“On the fire department side, there’s other traffic calming devices that might work better,” Trexler said. “The speed bumps are going to slow down the response of emergency vehicles because a large vehicle has to almost come to a complete stop before you proceed over that bump, so there’s pros and cons.” 

Emergency services were quick to respond to the fire and immediately provided the necessary steps to control the situation.

“Units were dispatched at 17:46, so 5:46 in the evening en route 17:50 [5:50 p.m.], [and] the first driving fire apparatus at 17:53 [5:53 p.m.],” Trexler said.

The EHS student left the area when the emergency service responders entered the scene. The fire from the vehicle grew exponentially and ultimately spread throughout the house, collapsing the roof and destabilizing the structure of the building, pushing the firefighters to withdrawal.

“We call it [an] offensive and defensive approach. Offensive, meaning we’re inside the building, fighting the fire,” Trexler said. “The conditions deteriorated on the crews; it got really hot, and the heat came down from the ceiling. We pulled the crews out because we’re able to read the smoke and look out for impending disaster.”

With the roof quickly crumbling down amid the chaos of the flames, a concern of the homeowner was her cat inside, according the the student. However, the cat escaped unscathed after it survived the roof collapse by hiding under the couch in the remains of the home. The student drove along the route of the fire around two hours later returning from their practice.

“I stopped. The whole neighborhood was still shut down. There [were] probably 10 fire trucks, and a reconstruction team for car crashes, [and] the state police,” the student said.

After the flames faded, the smoke passed from sight, and the sun withdrew from the sky. The good citizens and first responders concluded their duty. The driver was the only person involved who sustained injuries. There were no injuries related to the fire, just the vehicle impact.

“I’m grateful that everybody’s alive, to be honest,” the student said. “But I’m just happy I was there to help.”