About 2:18 a.m., on Sunday, March 14, 1982, a privately owned southbound Ford van was struck by eastbound Long Island Railroad Train No. 4602A, a commuter passenger train, at a railroad/highway grade crossing on Herricks Road and the main line of the Long Island Railroad in Mineola, Nassau County, New York. The Ford van, occupied by a teenage driver and nine teenage passengers, had been driven around a properly functioning lowered gate with flashing lights onto the crossing. Following the impact, a minor fire was ignited in the van's motor compartment. The fire was quickly extinguished by a local fire department. Nine of the van occupants were killed and one passenger was critically injured. There were no reported injuries to the passengers or crew aboard the commuter train. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the van driver's driving around the lowered crossing gates onto the railroad tracks into the path of the train. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the influence of alcohol on the driver's judgment and driving ability.
Railroad/Highway Accident Report - Long Island Railroad Commuter Train/Ford Van Collision, Mineola, New York, March 14, 1982
1982
40 pages
Report
No indication
English
Transportation Safety , Road Transportation , Railroad Transportation , Collisions , Railroad trains , Youths , Casualties , New York , Railroad accidents , Railroad highway crossings , Drinking drivers , Alcohol related crashes , Commuter rail systems , Vans(Vehicles) , Nassau County(New York) , Mineola(New York)