Vehicle hit by LIRR train, halts Port Jeff, Ronkonkoma lines

LIRR service has been suspended on the Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma branches after a train “clipped” a vehicle that was trying to get around lowered crossing gates near Hicksville, authorities said Tuesday night.

The driver ran off and Nassau police were looking for him, said officials from the police department and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

No one was injured, MTA spokeswoman Nancy Gamerman said, and early reports indicate the vehicle was not entirely on the tracks when a westbound Ronkonkoma train “clipped it” about 11 p.m. at the Urban Avenue crossing, west of the Hicksville station.

“It appears the vehicle tried to get around the gate,” Gamerman said.

Service between Penn and Hicksville stations has been halted so crews can check the condition of the tracks, she said.

By midnight, at least seven trains were delayed and one canceled, according to tweets by the Long Island Rail Road.