Authorities say one person has been taken to a hospital after a vehicle collided with a Long Island Rail Road train in Patchogue.
Witnesses say the crossing gates and alarms were working, but the driver tried to beat the train.
MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan says the patient was taken to Brookhaven Memorial hospital with minor injuries after the accident around noon Tuesday at the Ryder Avenue crossing.
"I saw the car cross the tracks with the gates down and he smashed into the train," witness Wayne Berry said.
There were no reports of anyone injured on the train.
Donovan said it did not appear any other trains on the Montauk branch were affected, but service was suspended for a time and lingering delays were reported.
On Monday, an SUV driven by an elderly woman was hit by a train at another Long Island crossing. That driver was hospitalized with neck and back injuries.
Last month, a Metro-North train crash in Westchester County killed six people.
Local
National railroad regulators said they are asking local police departments to issue more tickets to drivers who ignore warnings at crossings.
The Federal Railroad Administration's new safety campaign was spurred by the Westchester crash, as well as an accident in Oxnard, California ,last month that killed seven people.
The agency is calling for greater police presence at grade crossings and more citations for violations. It is not providing any new funding.
FRA spokesman Kevin Thompson said Tuesday that the agency has enlisted the cooperation of the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
