South Brunswick Couple Snowed In, Literally

South Brunswick, NJ - At first, Helen Yin thought it was funny when the snow started piling up outside her front door Saturday in the Princeton Manor complex in Kendall Park.

In the morning, snow blocked just the bottom of the door. She checked a few hours later. Now it came up to the middle.

But she never expected to find this when she opened the door Saturday night. Wind had pushed the snow flat up against their front door, completely blocking the exit of the Inverness Drive home she and husband, Shawn Yin, own.

“At first, I didn’t believe what I was seeing,” Yin told Patch Monday night. “I just could not believe it.”

“I started getting scared a little bit, thinking, ’Could I be trapped in my own home?,’” she said.

Yin said they were able to get out of the second garage door — the first was blocked by their car — but there were a few minutes where her mind was racing: “I thought for a minute we might have to climb out the upstairs windows,” she said, because even their first-floor windows were nearly covered by snow.

Yin said she thinks the shape of the home, plus the exposure, meant her front door bore the brunt of massive snow drifts the wind pushed up against her house. Princeton Manor is a 55+ adult community built by Toll Brothers.

Crews from the Princeton Manor homeowners’ association scaled the snow mountain at 5 a.m. Sunday, removing it from their home.

“I know some people are saying, ‘Oh, why didn’t they shovel?’ Well, we received many warnings from the homeowners’ association saying don’t shovel, it is a liability, we will do it for you,” she told Patch. “Also, this happened so fast. The snow came so fast.”

Their photos were included on ”Good Morning, America” Monday and Yin said their phone has been ringing non-stop with reporters. South Brunswick recorded 24 inches of snow from the storm.

Princeton Manor residents Patch talked to Monday said they were pleased with snow removal done by the association.