LIRR Rider Says Open Door Almost Caused Rush Hour Disaster In Merrick
MERRICK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island Rail Road commuter says he and his fellow passengers are lucky to have avoided disaster.
A train stopped in Merrick, and all the cars did not pull up to the platform, but doors opened over tracks located above a parking lot. Riders could have dropped 20 feet down.
Billy Fleming told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan he gets chills thinking of what might have been. He snapped a series of pictures after nearly tumbling into nothingness.
"The doors open up and all of a sudden as we move up someone goes 'woooh' and we look and there is no platform at all. The doors are open and it's just the air," Fleming said.
Fleming was in his usual spot in the last car on a packed rush hour train from Penn Station to Merrick, when he and fellow passengers almost stepped into thin air.
"It is really unbelievable that nobody actually stepped off. Here you are, a commuter coming in early, and you are tired, and working, everybody's got their faces buried in their phones," he said.
The area of elevated track has a 20 foot drop into the parking lot.
"At that point I reached up and hit the button. The emergency button on the ceiling to try to stop what was going on, and eventually they stopped the bells, the doors opened again," he said.
There was no response from the engineer or conductor, so Fleming said those trying to get off quickly struggled forward into the next car to safely exit and then watched as the 5:40 out of Penn continued eastbound.
"I called 911 and they said they couldn't take the call, referred me to the local police station, told me I have to call the MTA, called the MTA and they gave me a number I had to call, a bunch of prompts and eventually I got to the MTA for Nassau County, hit that button and got a recorded message, and was told to leave a message," Fleming said.
The LIRR said it is investigating, but the commuter council called it unacceptable. They are demanding that the MTA consider a new app so commuters can instantly text photos and get action.
"There should be a direct way of taking a picture of an open door that passes its platform, and send it directly to a place which can immediately look at it and take care of the situation," commuter council President Mark Epstein said.
Passenger complaints have poured in over the railroad's worst on time record in 16 years. A lack of communication during storms, parking at stations, and ticket prices have some frustrated riders using #WeDeserveBetter on social media.
The commuter council has called for C3RS, Confidential Close Call Reporting System, which would allow railroad workers to anonymously call in safety problems without fear of discipline or reprisal.
