By Canadian Press

3 people killed in train-vehicle collision on Long Island

Feb 26, 2019 | 9:31 PM

WESTBURY, N.Y. — A commuter train going at full speed struck a vehicle on the tracks in Westbury, killing all three occupants in the vehicle before derailing and tearing into a concrete platform Tuesday night, according to authorities.

Nassau County Police Chief Patrick Ryder said the vehicle was “trying to beat the gate” when it was struck just before 7:30 p.m. Police said the train, which was carrying about 200 passengers and headed for Manhattan, was going at “full speed” when it crashed.

Several of the train’s passengers were injured, police said.

Local TV news helicopter video showed the train cars standing upright after the wreck, but with the forward cars off the rails. One end of the train appeared to have struck a station platform, crushing part of it.

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Many emergency vehicles were on the scene, including some ambulances. The doors of the train were open and firefighters and other emergency workers could be seen entering and moving through the cars.

April Frazier, 31, of Brooklyn, told Newsday she was on the train going to Manhattan’s Penn Station.

“I was sitting on the left side and all of a sudden the train really started rocking hard. Flames flared up on my side. I heard the conductor yell ‘Brake, brake!’ That’s when I saw the flames.”

Another passenger said she heard the sound of metal dragging along the concrete platform.

“I knew something was wrong. We were in a panic,” Kiara Jackson told Newsday. “There was a screech and then there was a thud. They told us to walk westerly and there were two small fires. Smoke was kind of coming in so they told us to just keep walking.”

Service has been suspended in both directions on the Ronkonkoma and Huntington/Port Jefferson branches.

The Associated Press