A LIRR train crashed into an SUV on the tracks, demolishing the vehicle, which burst into flames, and killed the driver. Click below to read the rest of the story.
The Long Island Rail Road train originated at Penn Station at 3:15 a.m. and had just left the Brentwood, L.I., station when it slammed into the late model Dodge Durango about 4:30 a.m.
“I don’t know how this happens, but it wound up under the eighth car – the train passed over it,†MTA spokesman Salvatore Arena said of the destroyed vehicle.
Police have not been able to identify the victim, a man. The SUV is registered to a woman.
“Their body was burnt pretty much beyond recognition,†Arena said.
The crossing gates were functioning properly and down at the time of the accident, Arena said.
Investigators are unsure how the SUV ended up on the tracks.
The 31 people onboard the train, all uninjured, were evacuated to a bus.
Service remains suspended between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma as workers struggle to repair about 300 feet of damaged third rail.
