UPDATE: Driver Gets Ticket After Train Hits Truck at Pineview Road Crossing

UPDATE: Clarkstown police issued a summons to the driver of the tractor-trailer that drove onto the tracks as a CSX train approached.

The summons was for disobeying a signal indicating an approaching train, section 1170a of the NYS vehicle and traffic law.

The driver, a 63-year-old man from Tappan, NY, told police that he thought the train was not moving when he observed the train south of the crossing. The train engineer, 35, from Albany, NY said 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. There was no damage to the train. A street sign was damaged during the collision.

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A tractor-trailer on the grade crossing at Pineview Road in West Nyack was hit by a CSX freight train Wednesday evening.

According to CSX there were no injuries.

A CSX spokesman said the crash happened at about 6:50 pm Aug. 6. A CSX freight train struck the trailer portion of a tractor-trailer at the Pine View Dr crossing in Orangeburg, New York. No injuries occurred and there was no damage to the train. The train had three locomotives and 35 cars, comprising 34 loads of municipal solid waste and one empty car. There were no leaks or spills of cargo as a result of this incident.

The Clarkstown Police Department was notified and responded to investigate. The scene was cleared and train released for normal operation at approximately 10 pm.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who had been at the grade crossing in May with local officials to announce legislation that would ban interstate shipment of high-volatility crude oil via rail, and direct federal agencies to set a national standard for crude volatility when shipped on the nation’s rail networks, issued a statement about the collision.

“Today we were lucky there were no injuries, but we can’t rely on sheer luck to protect our community. 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.”

Lowey successfully included an amendment during the FY2016 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill markup on May 13, 2015 that would increase the Highway Safety Improvement Program from $220 million to $350 million, meaning state highway departments would have additional resources to make upgrades and safety improvements at dangerous crossings.

Just two weeks ago, Rockland County public safety agencies and CSX conducted a realistic training exercise for first responders Thursday evening built around a scenario involving an accident to a train carrying hazardous materials.

RELATED:

• Rockland First Responders in Haz-Mat Train Drill
• With Freight Trains through Rockland Daily, First Responders Need All the Help They Can Get

The exercise was held in Orangeburg, near the intersection of Highview Avenue and Western Highway.