Freight train kills pedestrian
Female struck on railroad tracks that run parallel to Route 9W in Lake Katrine
A female pedestrian died Tuesday afternoon when she was struck by a freight train on the CSX tracks that run parallel to U.S. Route 9W, according to town of Ulster police.
The pedestrian was struck by the northbound train about 1:15 p.m. near the Tractor Supply Co. store, across from Adams Fairacre Farms, police said. They did not provide her name or age, nor did they say why she might have been on the tracks.
The accident closed the railroad crossings on Boices Lane, Old Neighborhood Road and Grant Avenue. They reopened about 4:45 p.m.
A group of men who gathered near the Leggs Mills Road crossing Tuesday afternoon included Douglas Bigler of the town of Ulster, who said his nephew, Keith Bigler, 21, died after being struck by a train in October 2012. Bigler said something must be done to prevent such accidents.
“My nephew got hit by a train five years ago, and CSX has to fence off the railroad tracks so nobody can get on them, and that’s how I feel about that,” he said.
In an email about 5 p.m. Tuesday, a CSX spokesman said the train was en route from Oak Island, N.J., to Detroit and consisted of two locomotives and 89 empty automobile carriers.
The company did not answer a reporter’s questions about how fast the train was going or whether an attempt was made to stop the train before the person was struck.
“CSX personnel are cooperating with the [local] police, appreciates the swift response by local emergency personnel” and “extends its thoughts to those impacted by this tragic event,” the emailed statement said.
In addition to Keith Bigler, several people have been killed while walking on the CSX tracks in the city of Kingston and town of Ulster in recent years.
In October, 2016, Jordan DePace, 15, of Kingston, died after being struck by a train in the city.
In February 2016, 19-year-old Dylan James Bonestell of Kingston was struck and killed by a northbound train off Ulster Avenue, in the area of the Hoffman self-serve car wash, in the town of Ulster.
And in November 2015, 19-year-old Zahmek Blakey of Kingston was struck in a rail yard off Ulster Avenue in Ulster, near Spiegel Brothers Paper Co.
In February 2017, a taxi was struck by a train in Saugerties, resulting in the death Bertha Whispell, 50, of Saugerties, a rearseat passenger in the cab. The driver, Phillip A. Prindle, 43, of Kingston, was charged with the felony of failure to stop at a railroad crossing resulting in a fatal accident.
“CSX personnel are cooperating with the [local] police, appreciates the swift response by local emergency personnel” and “extends its thoughts to those impacted by this tragic event.” — CSX emailed statement