LIRR train strikes, kills pedestrian in Central Islip
MTA police at the scene in Central Islip on Sunday where a person was struck and killed by an LIRR train. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
A pedestrian was struck and killed by a Long Island Rail Road train in Central Islip Sunday afternoon, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.
The collision occurred around 1:53 p.m., according to spokeswoman Joana Flores, when Train 9955, with scheduled service from Ronkonkoma to Hicksville, struck and killed a 27-year-old man from Central Islip about 150 feet east of the the Islip Avenue grade crossing, where the road crosses the tracks. The man was pronounced dead on the scene by the East Brentwood Fire Department. No one else was injured, according to Flores.
Flores said "no criminality is suspected," but "the investigation is ongoing."
Service on the Ronkonkoma Branch, which had been partially suspended between Wyandanch and Ronkonkoma, had been mostly restored by late Sunday afternoon, with some trains running between 10 and 15 minutes behind schedule.
The railroad also conducted planned maintenance on the Ronkonkoma line and several other lines this weekend, which led to the suspension of service between Hicksville and Jamaica until early Monday.
Including Sunday's crash, at least four people have been struck and killed by LIRR trains so far this year. The others include a 21-year-old man in Farmingdale in April, a 17-year-old girl in June in Massapequa and another person earlier this month in Sayville. In February, an LIRR train struck a stalled vehicle in East Farmingdale but the driver escaped.
The Islip Avenue railroad crossing, where Sunday's crash occurred, has seen at least two other fatal train crashes since 2012. Both involved cars on the tracks — one in 2012, the other in May 2013.
The MTA has announced plans to eliminate a number of grade crossings, where the tracks intersect with roads, by constructing concrete underpasses for vehicles in order to improve safety and reduce congestion. One of the crossings slated for elimination is about a mile and a half east of Sunday's crash, at Lowell Avenue in Central Islip, and another is about 2.5 miles west, at Wicks Road/Fifth Avenue in Brentwood.
Loophole in state bus law ... LI's 'ghost forests' ... Prepping for Feast of St. Rocco ... LI Works: Under pressure ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Loophole in state bus law ... LI's 'ghost forests' ... Prepping for Feast of St. Rocco ... LI Works: Under pressure ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
