CSX crash: Trucker thought train was stopped

WEST NYACK — The driver of a tractor-trailer struck by a CSX freight train Wednesday evening told police that he thought the train was not moving, Clarkstown police said Thursday.

The trucker, a 63-year-old Tappan resident, was issued a summons for disobeying a signal indicating approach of a train, they said.

The collision shut the Pineview Road crossing for several hours, authorities said. The tracks were cleared about 10 p.m. Wednesday, three hours after the 2014 Mack truck got stuck on the eastbound side of the tracks and its trailer was hit by the train, authorities said.

The northbound train struck the back of the trailer as the rig was heading east around 7 p.m., police said.

No one was injured. The collision damaged the trailer and a street sign, police said.

Police Officer Peter Walker said the train engineer, a 35-year-old Albany man, told investigators that he was moving slowly approaching the crossing and was sounding the train whistle.

The caution lights on the crossing appeared to be in working condition, Walker said.

There are no safety gates at the crossing, located in an area of residential homes and industry.

Rockland County is moving closer to building safer railroad grade crossings that could prevent accidents like a deadly train crash earlier this year in Westchester. Construction could begin this year to install enhanced protections at 14 crossings along a freight line in Orangetown, Clarkstown and Haverstraw.

The train was not damaged and did not spill any cargo or fuel, CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle said. The train had three locomotives and 35 cars, carrying 34 loads of municipal solid waste and one empty car, he said.

The crossing is open.

Last month, Rockland first responders conducted a drill to prepare for an oil train disaster. County emergency crews have responded to multiple incidents involving CSX trains in the last few months.

"Today we were lucky there were no injuries, but we can't rely on sheer luck to protect our community," U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, said in a statement. "Accidents like this remind us that we must do more to reduce the risks of these crashes, which is why I included $350 million for grade crossing improvements in the 2016 transportation spending bill and introduced a bill to prohibit rail shipments of the most dangerous crude oil."

Twitter: @MattSpillane