Irvington DPW Worker Breaks Pelvis in Train-Car Collision

Twenty-two-year Irvington Department of Public Works laborer David Colucci was critically injured in Patterson in Putnam County on Sunday when his car was struck by a Metro-North train, according to MTA police.

Colucci was transported to Danbury (Conn.) Hospital just after 7 p.m., and although conscious, Colucci remains in a lot of pain.

"The good news is I survived," Colucci said Monday morning, speaking from his hospital bed. "But I have a broken pelvis, and I'm not looking forward to the surgery. But it's the next step to walking again."

Colucci had been crossing the tracks at Marble Quarry Road, south of the Patterson Metro-North station, when the accident occurred. The railroad was not required to install gates because the intersection was on private land, said Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for Metro-North Railroad.

However, Anders said there were flashers that had gone off.  

"When there's a private road connecting two private parcels of land, it's incumbent upon the landowners to put up gates," Anders said. 

Irvington DPW general foreman Morris Lamberti expressed concern for Colucci, describing him as a "dedicated worker."

And DPW superintendent Greg Nilsson said he was shocked to hear the news, but encouraged to learn Colucci was stable and his family had been notified. 

Colucci would not elaborate further on the accident, and does not know when he will undergo surgery.