Shana Daly has been a victim of the social media-dubbed “Shardnado” twice.
The Tarentum resident got a flat tire weeks ago while driving along Route 28 to Harmar and then again Feb. 6. Both times, a thin metal shard was the culprit.
The mysterious fragments have been found on local roads from Frazer to Freeport, with a majority of reports coming from Burtner Road, Route 908, Route 28 and Freeport Road in Harrison.
As recently as Wednesday, a driver reported a flat along Route 356 heading toward Leechburg.
“It’s so frustrating,” Daly said. “I drive Route 28 multiple times a day and have never gotten a flat tire before. You can’t avoid all these roads.”
Social media reports started appearing on Feb. 4 — about the same time Harrison police Chief Brian Turack said his phone lines were flooded with flat tire reports and local tire shops were booming with repairs.
More than a week later, drivers still are ending up on the side of the road, facing tire and tow expenses, although less than initially.
Harry Hoffman, manager at Highland Tire in Tarentum, said the frenzy has died down this week, but his store still is getting about three to five flat tires a day.
“When it first started, we were seeing between 20 and 30 a day,” Hoffman said. “They are the identical shards.”
People have theorized that the scraps could have chipped off snow plow blades or fallen from trucks hauling scrap metal loads in the area. Turack said he doesn’t believe they were placed on the road with criminal intent, but officers are investigating.
PennDOT sent several of its “sweeper” trucks into the area last week to clean the roads. The trucks cleaned Freeport Road and Burtner Road in Harrison and a few shards were found, Spokesman Steve Cowan said.
Crews returned Monday and found no metal pieces. Cowan said a return trip is scheduled after the snow melts.
“We also checked our salt supply and found nothing,” Cowan said.
Turack did not provide the number of reports taken by his department.
JV Manufacturing, which has a Burtner Road facility that produces precision metal tools for various industries, posted to social media that it is aware of concerns and that it takes safety seriously.
Calls to JV Manufacturing this week were not returned. The post said company officials are in contact with township police and have provided all requested information during the investigation.
“JV Manufacturing follows established procedures for the handling and removal of materials through licensed third-party partners and maintains oversight of these processes in accordance with applicable standards,” the post said.
Local scrapyards said they are not involved.
Anyone who finds metal in their tire is asked to file a damage report at harrisontwp.com/police/condition-report.