Car on track delays Ronkonkoma trains

Some trains on the Ronkonkoma branch may be late by more than an hour Thursday night after an abandoned car was removed from the tracks in Deer Park, the Long Island Rail Road said.

Service between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma was temporarily suspended from 6:30 to 8 p.m. after the crew of the 5:29 p.m. train out of Long Island City saw a car on the Commack Road crossing, just west of the Deer Park station, said LIRR spokesman Aaron Donovan.

"There wasn't any train versus car collision," he said.

The car got stuck after swerving to avoid a collision with another vehicle, Donovan said: "In the process, it skidded off the road and onto the tracks."

There was no indication the driver was intoxicated, he said.

Donovan said the electricity to the third rail had to be turned off before a tow truck could haul the vehicle away, causing delays in efforts to clear the train crossing.

Several trains have been delayed, including the 7:13 p.m. Ronkonkoma train due 8:32 p.m. at Penn Station, the 5:53 p.m. train out of Penn to Ronkonkoma and the 6:53 p.m. train from Ronkonkoma to Greenport, the LIRR said.

LIRR said one train was canceled, the 7:11 p.m. train from Penn due in Ronkonkoma at 8:33 p.m. Those passengers will be accommodated by the 7:44 p.m. from Penn.