LIRR Train Derails Near New Hyde Park, 29 People Injured
NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island Rail Road train derailed near New Hyde Park around 9:10 p.m. Saturday.
A Huntington-bound train derailed a half mile east of the New Hyde Park station. The passenger train collided with an LIRR work train.
The first three cars of the 12-car passenger train derailed. There were approximately 600 passengers on board.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said 29 people were injured.
"I know of injuries in the first two cars, they said some were serious. We heard a crash like it was going off the train, like it was derailing, and then it came to a stop," one passenger told CBS2 on the phone. "I'm praying for the other people who were in front of me in the car, who I heard were hurt pretty bad."
"All of sudden we felt the train derail and then you heard a little bang," another passenger, Dave Gewritz, said.
LIRR train service was suspended in both directions on the Ronkonkoma, Oyster Bay and Port Jefferson branches.
Passengers from the derailed train were being taken to New Hyde Park Village Hall at 498 Stewart Ave, where their family and friends could meet them.
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Passengers quickly took to social media to share videos and photos from the scene:
"Staff from the MTA and the LIRR are on the scene and will work around the clock to determine the cause of this derailment and restore service as quickly as possible," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
