Pennsylvania road crew paints over dead raccoon

A dead raccoon is covered with yellow paint from a PennDOT road crew that was repainting street lines in Johnstown, Pa. / Josh Byers/Tribune-Democrat

(AP) JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation official says a crew couldn't avoid painting over a dead raccoon when they put new double-yellow lines on a western Pennsylvania road last week.

But Josh Byers of the Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reported Wednesday that a motorist pointed out the mistake before it could be cleaned up.

Sean McAfee tells the newspaper he almost wrecked his motorcycle because he was laughing so hard when he saw the freshly painted road kill in Johnstown on Aug. 2.

PennDOT spokesman John Ambrosini says paint crews know to avoid such animals and usually have a foreman on the job who clears any dead animals off the road before the paint-spraying truck equipment passes by. This crew didn't have a foreman and the equipment was too big to turn around in traffic, remove the animal and repair the paint.

[SWPPPMan]

Big deal must be slow for the news agencies. Line painting animals has been going on since 1955 when the first line paint was sprayed in the UK. I'd be more impressed with a black bear or elk.

Most people talking are the same idiots who end up with line paint on their cars because they drive to close.

Another note most line painting across the country is done by none union workers and contractors.

[ghostrider0000]

Wow, defensive much?

[notredamegirl77]

This is why Americans are called lazy!!! This right here is a perfect example!!

[BWB2020]

Well if Palin was the "lipstick on a pig", Romney/Ryan can be "the road paint on a dead raccoon".

[namerub]

And you are the skid mark in my underwear

[ajaynejr]

Great for laughs but it is really no big deal. It's more efficient and cost effective for the painting truck to just keep on going. No problem waiting for the raccoon to be cleaned up and adding the gap in the painted line to a list of touch up spots for another painting crew to come back and redo.

[lagbear]

I live a few blocks from from this painted coon... Hey, at least the tail is salvageable!

[unclebernies]

What an idiotic excuse. They could have just stop marking that section when they knew they were going to pass over a dead animal. When the animal decomposes it's going to become a blank spot anyway.

[Noval53]

Yea though I walk through the valley of death; oops. Be warned ye thieving racoons. Hear ye; let this yellow line serve as a warning to all racoons that may be tempted to cross this line.

[neelie57tbird]

hmmm I misread a comment about using this as a road warning....I mistakenly thought it said Road WARMING...more appropriate maybe?
Meanwhile...this got more publicity than the last time Johnstown's roads were lined...and during the downpour many cars, clothes and shoes were damaged....but I never heard from the PENDOT about repaying for their error in using the wrong paint and washing the streets 'in gold.'
Someone is sleeping on the job in the office I imagine

[JCgoo]

Reminds me of the joke where one PA DOT worker is digging holes and another following up behind him filling them. "Why are you doing that" asks a bystander. The worker responds "There's usually one between us that puts a tree in the hole, but he's out sick today."

[smartalecq]

either he didn't see it or he's really lazy.