A westbound Long Island Rail Road train approaching the station in East Hampton Village struck a car attempting to cross the tracks at around 7:20 Friday morning at the Newtown Lane and Railroad Avenue crossing.
While the accident backed up traffic in the village, there were no injuries.
Brooke Kroeger of East Hampton made a left from Sherrill Road onto Newtown Lane and attempted to cross the downed railroad gates on her way to Citarella. She did not see the train, she told police.
While the conductor of the train agreed that Ms. Kroeger had tried to bypass the gates, she characterized the accident a bit differently, saying that it wasn't the train that hit the car, but the car that hit the train. Police did not release the name of the conductor.
She "drove around the crossing gates and hit the right front side of the train," the Medford-based conductor told village police. The train sustained some minor damage, she added.
The rear end of Ms. Kroeger's 2024 Audi suffered substantial damage, but she was unhurt, according to Jeff Erickson, the village police chief. Staff from Hampton Chutney, near the intersection, took water to her as she sat on a bench in front of the shop following the crash.
The train completely blocked the road for more than an hour after the collision. "It's a complete traffic nightmare. We have four railroad crossings in the village, the only one that's working is at Osborne Lane," Mayor Jerry Larsen said by phone shortly after the accident.
Village police helped to remove passengers from the train to await a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus that was to be sent to retrieve them. By around 8:40, five M.T.A. officials had arrived on the scene and given the okay for the train to head west. The Long Island Rail Road website logged only minor delays following the collision.
With Reporting by Durell Godfrey and Leigh Goodstein