Feb 13, 2009 7:02 pm US/Eastern
LIRR Train Hits Car, Kills 86-Year-Old Driver
SYOSSET, NY (CBS) ―
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A LIRR train headed eastbound collided with a vehicle on the tracks near Syosset. The driver was killed, while no one aboard the train was injured.
CBS
A LIRR train slammed into a car on the tracks in Syosset Friday morning, killing its driver.
The blue Mercury sedan was demolished, and the World War II veteran behind the steering wheel was killed by the force of impact.
The train was traveling 80 miles per hour though the Robbins Lane crossing when, passenger Judy Ali says, "we felt a jolt."
Ali, a registered nurse, was on that eastbound train from Penn Station.
"They called for help on the train and I walked up – all the way to the front of the train – but there was nothing we could do," she says. "He was already gone."
Looming questions remain after the "Battle of the Bulge" war hero, 86-year-old Michael Grande, died.
Who was at fault? Were the crossing gates up or down?
"The northbound gate went up and the gentleman proceeded," witness Brian McCready says. "That's when he was struck by the train."
But several witnesses had conflicting stories.
"We heard a loud bang, a horrific screeching noise, saw the end of the train, saw smoke," Michael Bove says. "This gate was down."
What is confirmed is that the LIRR was working on the crossing gate, replacing a breakaway pin.
"About an hour prior to this incident, we did have crews on the scene because there was a gate issue," spokesman Joe Calderone says.
The gates were repaired and cleared, and preliminary electronic data shows the gates as down – but some here wonder if weather played a role.
"Yesterday the gates were: one down, one half-up," motorist Brian Tierney says. "[It] seemed to be triggered by gusts of wind"
150 LIRR passengers hope never to relive this kind of tragic accident again, as it's something they'll never forget.
Investigators say it will take some time to determine if the gates malfunctioned, or the driver went around them.
The crossing was the scene of a previous tragedy as well. In February of 2006, a West Islip woman was killed when she mistakenly turned onto the tracks and was subsequently struck and killed by a train.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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