6 Killed In Collision Between Commuter Train and SUV in New York

Updated: February 4, 2015 12:48 PM [ET] | Originally published: February 3, 2015 8:16 PM EST;

Six people were killed and about a dozen others injured after a commuter train collided with an SUV and caught fire Tuesday evening near White Plains, N.Y., officials said.

Authorities said the fatalities included the driver of the SUV who got trapped between the gates of a railroad crossing, the Associated Press reports. She reportedly got out of her car momentarily, then got back in and was trying to drive the vehicle out of the train’s path when it hit her. Five of the train’s 650 passengers also died in the collision.

Witness the Aftermath of the New York Train Crash

A train fire after a Metro-North train struck a vehicle in Valhalla, N.Y. on Feb. 3, 2015. — A fire broke out after a Metro-North train struck a vehicle in Valhalla, N.Y. on Feb. 3, 2015.Justin Kaback(@bizzz23) via Instagram

A still image captured from WNBC-TV video shows first responders battling fire on a New York City -Metro-North train following an accident near Valhalla New York — A still image captured from WNBC-TV aerial video shows first responders battling a fire on a New York City Metro-North train following an accident near Valhalla, N.Y. on Feb. 3, 2015. WNBC/Reuters

Train Car Collision — Emergency personnel work at the scene of a Metro-North Railroad passenger train and vehicle accident in Valhalla, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2015. Seth Wenig—AP

Metro North Commuter Train Collides With Two Vehicles Killing 6 — First responders work at the scene of a train accident on in Valhalla, N.Y. on Feb. 3, 2015.Andrew Delaney—Getty Images

Carpio Sextuplets — Seven people were killed, around 12 injured in a Metro-North crash in Valhalla, N.Y. on Feb. 3, 2015. Enid Alvarez—Xinhua/Sipa

Firefighters and Emergency workers stand near a burnt Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro North Railroad commuter train car near the town of Valhalla — Firefighters and Emergency workers stand near a burnt Metro North commuter train car near the town of Valhalla, N.Y. on Feb. 3, 2015. Mike Segar—Reuters

New York Governor Cuomo pauses as he speaks at news conference near site where Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro North Railroad commuter train had hit car near town of Valhalla, New York — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pauses as he speaks holds a press conference near the site where a Metro North commuter train hit a car near Valhalla, N.Y. on Feb. 3, 2015.Mike Segar—Reuters

The Harlem line train, which departed Grand Central Station at 5:45 p.m., struck the vehicle — a Jeep Cherokee — around 6:30 p.m. in the town of Valhalla about 30 miles north of Manhattan, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson said.

“You have seven people who started out today to go about their business and aren’t going to be making it home tonight,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the crash site.

The speed of the train at the time of impact has not yet been confirmed, but a railroad official said its maximum speed is 60 mph. The locomotive reportedly pushed the jeep about 10 car lengths forward, and other passengers said they felt a bump and smelt gasoline from the vehicle.

The incident is the latest in a string of recent Metro-North accidents that have raised questions over the company’s safety regulations. In December 2013, a derailment in the Bronx left four passengers dead and over 60 injured, months after a foreman in West Haven, Conn., was fatally struck by a train, and in March 2014, another rail worker was killed by a train in Manhattan.

[AP]

Witness the Aftermath of the New York Train Crash

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