Freight train hits dump truck; driver uninjured
An “absolutely lucky” dump truck driver escaped injury Friday morning after he failed to stop his vehicle at a private railroad crossing off Kings Highway and it was struck by a CSX locomotive, Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said.
Jhon F. Orozco-Giraldo, 21, of Mine Hill, N.J., was driving a 2015 Kenworth tri-axle dump truck west on a private road, toward Kings Highway, when he was struck by a southbound cargo train at 6:34 a.m., Sinagra said. OrozcoGiraldo was ticketed for failure to stop at the crossing, according to a police press release.
The crossing, on a private road just south of Tissal Road, is marked with a stop sign and a ‘“Private RR Crossing” sign on each side of the tracks but does not have warning lights or gates.
A CSX spokeswoman said the train originated in Cleveland and was on its way to Long Island. The train was carrying 53 loaded auto racks, Gail Lobin said.
“We are grateful that no one was injured in this morning’s incident and appreciate the efforts of local police who responded to the scene,” Lobin wrote in an email.
Sinagra said OrozcoGiraldo, whose truck might have been empty when it was hit, had been southbound on Kings Highway and accidently drove past Tissal Road, where he had intended to turn. He turned down the private road, crossed the tracks, made a U-turn and was struck as he crossed them again on his way back toward Kings Highway, the chief said.
The dump truck “sustained extensive damage,” but Orozco-Giraldo was not injured, police said.
The tracks and the road were cleared by about 10:15 a.m., Sinagra said.
A Feb. 16 train-car accident at the railroad crossing on Doyle’s Lane in Saugerties, also off Kings Highway, claimed the life of a 50-year-old woman.
In that incident, a Kingston Kabs vehicle driven by Phillip A. Prindle, 43, of Kingston, was struck after failing to stop at the crossing’s stop sign, police said at the time.
Bertha Whispell of Saugerties, a rear-seat passenger in the taxi, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Prindle and front-seat passenger Rodney Smith, 52, of Kingston, were injured but survived.
Prindle was charged with the felony of failure to stop at a railroad crossing resulting in a fatal accident.