Train hits ATV; authorities looking for operator

State police, Ulster County sheriff’s deputies, Esopus firefighters and ambulance crews searched the CSX railroad tracks about one mile north of Floyd Ackert Road for about two hours Saturday morning after a southbound freight train struck an all terrain vehicle, but they never found the operator, according to the Esopus Fire Department.

According to a CSX spokesperson, at about 9:30 a.m., the train struck an ATV, which the driver was able to exit before impact.

Early reports Saturday morning from CSX and Ulster County 911 were that the train had hit a snowmobile. Esopus Fire Department Chief William Freer said the ATV was struck about a mile from a railroad crossing and had to have been driven across the tracks. He said state police were trying to determine who owns the vehicle and who might have been operating it.

According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles website, ATVs must be registered and insured. They do not require a license to operate, but there are age restrictions.

CSX said there were no injuries reported to the train crew.

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, state police at Highland and CSX police were on the scene investigating and the tracks were declared clear at 12:33 p.m., according to Esopus Fire Department officials.

The first arriving Esopus Fire Department unit was on the scene in less than five minutes from dispatch and began searching the area, according to a press release.

At 10:02 a.m., firefighters located a severely damaged ATV alongside the railroad tracks, fire officials said.

The train was traveling from Cleveland, Ohio, to Richfield Heights, N.J. It had two locomotives and 65 auto freight cars, CSX said.