Tragedy on the Tracks

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Shortly before 11 p.m. on Feb. 17, 1959, two Long Island Rail Road trains collided head-on near Banks Avenue in Rockville Centre, killing 32 and injuring more than 200. Rescuers worked throughout the night to extricate the injured and the dead from the mangled wreck.

An investigation determined that an eastbound train had proceeded past a stop signal and rammed into a New York-bound train. The collision occurred on a one-track stretch used at different times by eastbound and westbound trains.

The engineer of the eastbound train, Jacob Kiefer, who said he had blacked out, was charged with manslaughter and acquitted in a trial later that year. Days after the crash, the railroad installed tripping devices in the area to stop trains automatically.