'No reports of zombies' in Springetts despite strange road sign Thursday, police said

Some motorists driving along East Market Street in Springettsbury Township were met with some "strange messages" on a traffic sign Thursday afternoon.

"ZOMBIES

AHEAD!!

RUN!!!"

That message -- and another less appropriate one -- were displayed on the sign Thursday afternoon, according to some residents of the nearby Springettsbury Apartments.

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Springettsbury Township Police seemed to handle the incident with a sense of humor, indicating that someone gained access to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation sign stationed in the 3400 block of East Market Street a short distance from Mt. Zion Road. 

"We hope there was not public alarm today as there were no reports of Zombies anywhere in Springettsbury Township," police said in a post on Facebook.

But some residents didn't find the prank as funny.

Alexis Matthews, who lives in the Springettsbury Apartments, said she came home around 5 or 5:30 p.m. Thursday and noticed the sign.

"I have a kid," Matthews said. "Luckily, she can't read."

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Matthews said the one message was fine. "I get it, it's a practical joke. The first part, about the zombies, was funny."

But the second message, one too explicit to print in a news article, "was not appropriate," Matthews said, noting her 4-year-old daughter Riley was in the car when she drove past the sign. "This is an older persons' community. I don't think anybody appreciated it."

Wendell Parker, who also lives in the Springettsbury Apartments, said he saw the sign with the strange messages, but he didn't realize it was a prank.

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"I thought it was a misprint," he said, like the person who was trying to key in a real message made a typo.

Even after Parker heard what the messages really said, he thought it was kind of funny, and he was glad no one was hurt. He said when he saw the cars backing up on East Market Street and people getting out of their cars to take pictures, he thought there was a car accident.

"There was a lot of traffic out there," Parker said.

There wasn't an accident, but there was definitely something to see.