LIRR train hits van near Patchogue station, driver hurt, officials say
A westbound Long Island Rail Road train hit a van near the Patchogue station Wednesday night, officials said. Credit: Stringer News
A driver was hospitalized after his van was struck by a Long Island Rail Road train east of the Patchogue station late Wednesday night, railroad officials said.
The collision caused a suspension of all service between Sayville and Bellport that has since been restored, the railroad said.
Officials said the collision occurred just before midnight on the Montauk Branch, when the van was struck by a westbound train. It was not immediately clear, the railroad said, how the van got onto the tracks.
Officials said MTA police, railroad personnel and local firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene and firefighters cut the injured driver from the wreckage. The LIRR said the incident was under investigation by MTA police.
Two eastbound trains and the westbound train involved in the crash were canceled, the railroad said. The collision caused a suspension of service from 11:55 p.m. until about 2:45 a.m.
Officials said shuttle bus service was provided in the interim between Sayville and Bellport.
No passengers were reported injured in the incident. The condition of the driver was not immediately known on Thursday.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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