A New York commuter train struck an SUV on the tracks in a suburban New York City community Tuesday night, killing the driver of the car and six passengers on board the train, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press conference.
The northbound Metro-North Railroad train struck a Jeep Cherokee in Valhalla, 20 miles north of New York City, railroad spokesman Aaron Donovan said. Seven were killed in the accident marking the crash as the railroad’s deadliest.
"You have seven people who started out today to go about their business and aren't going to be making it home tonight," Cuomo said.
The railroad crossing gates had come down on top of the SUV, which had stopped on the train tracks, Donovan said. The driver got out to inspect the vehicle and got back into it to drive away when it was struck, he said.
The train shoved the SUV about 10 train car lengths. Smoke poured out of the scorched front rail car, its windows blackened.
"I was trapped. You know there was people in front of me and behind me, and I was trapped in the middle of a car and it was getting very hot," he told ABC News. "All the air was turned off so there was no circulation so it was definitely scary especially when people are walking by on the outside and they said, 'The train's on fire. There's a fire.'"
Passenger Stacey Eisner, who was at the rear of the train, told NBC News that she felt the train "jerk" and then a conductor walked through the train explaining what had happened. She said her train car was evacuated about 10 minutes later using ladders to get people out.
The other rail passengers were moved to the rear of the train, which had left Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan 45 minutes earlier.
More than 750 passengers were likely aboard the train. About 400 passengers got off from the rear of the train and taken to a rock climbing gym for shelter. Buses were headed there to pick them up and take them to their destinations.
All railroad grade crossings have gate arms that are designed to lift automatically if they strike a vehicle no the way down, railroad safety consultant Grady Cothen said. The arms are made of wood and are designed to be easily broken if a car trapped between them moves forward or backward, he said.
Metro-North is the nation's second-busiest railroad, after the Long Island Rail Road. It was formed in 1983 and serves about 280,000 riders a day in New York and Connecticut.
Metro-North is the nation's second-busiest railroad, after the Long Island Rail Road. It was formed in 1983 and serves about 280,000 riders a day in New York and Connecticut. Service on its Harlem Line was suspended between Pleasantville and North White Plains after the crash.
Metro-North has had many recent accidents. Late last year, the National Transportation Safety Board issued rulings on five accidents that occurred in New York and Connecticut in 2013 and 2014, repeatedly finding fault with the railroad while also noting that conditions have improved.
Among the accidents was a Dec. 1, 2013, derailment that killed four people, the railroad's first passenger fatalities, in the Bronx. The NTSB said the engineer had fallen asleep at the controls because he had a severe, undiagnosed case of sleep apnea.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source : http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/04/at-least-12-hurt-after-ny-commuter-train-hits-car-report-says/
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