LIRR Train Strikes Car At West Hempstead Crossing

WEST HEMPSTEAD, NY — A Long Island Rail Road train struck an unoccupied car at a railroad crossing on Eagle Avenue in West Hempstead on Wednesday night, a Long Island Rail Road spokeswoman said.

The train “came in contact” with the car because it was parked “too close” to the railroad crossing at about 8:21 p.m, the spokeswoman said. Eagle Avenue was closed off between Woodfield Road and Hempstead Gardens Drive for about an hour while Metropolitan Transit Authority police investigated. A passenger, seated on one of two eastbound West Hempstead Branch trains delayed by the closure, was not injured.

MTA police located the owner of the unoccupied car and issued a summons for obstructing a railroad crossing. No further information was available.