2 Escape Serious Injury When Car Is Struck By Train In Elmwood Park
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Two people escaped serious injury when the car they were in was struck by a train in Bergen County.
Authorities told The Record newspaper that the accident occurred around 1 a.m. Sunday. They say the car's driver tried to go around the lowered warning gates blocking the Midland Avenue crossing in Elmwood Park.
The driver, a 55-year-old woman from Yonkers, New York, and her passenger were both treated at hospitals for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. But further details on their conditions were not disclosed.
No other injuries were reported in the accident, which involved an NJ TRANSIT train that had departed from Hoboken and was headed for Port Jervis, New York.
The crossing gates were working properly at the time of the accident, officials said.
The driver was cited for disregarding a railroad crossing, NJ TRANSIT spokeswoman Nancy Snyder told WCBS 880.
"We here at New Jersey Transit urge everyone to obey safety warning systems near and around railroad crossings," Snyder said.
The Tri-State area has seen several incidents in recent months of trains colliding with vehicles, most notably the fiery Feb. 3 crash between a Metro-North Railroad train and an SUV on the tracks, which left six people dead.
In separate incidents in March, two Long Island Rail Road trains struck vehicles that were on the tracks. In both crashes, the vehicles' drivers are believed to have ignored the ringing bells and flashing warning lights.
The drivers suffered non-life-threatening injuries in both collisions, and no one aboard the trains was hurt.
There also have been close calls in Norwalk, Connecticut, and in Chappaqua, New York.
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