No injuries as LIRR train hits vehicle on tracks, officials say

A LIRR train struck a vehicle on the tracks in Westbury on Sunday evening, resulting in widespread delays but no injuries, officials said.

Riders on the Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma lines experienced cancellations and delays due to the accident, the railroad said, but around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, trains were on or close to schedule.

The 6:03 p.m. train from Huntington, due at Penn Station at 7:07 p.m., struck a vehicle in the tracks near Urban and Railroad avenue in Westbury about 6:30 p.m., said Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan.

The accident occurred at one of seven street-level crossings proposed to be eliminated and replaced with an overpass under the third track plan being pushed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

“This is the zone where Gov. Cuomo is proposing to expand from two tracks to three,” said Donovan, promoting the controversial plan.

Officials are investigating why the vehicle was on the tracks, but no injuries were reported, Donovan said.

About 700 people were aboard the train at the time of the accident and will either be picked up by another train or taken into the city by bus, Donovan said.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.