LIRR LIFESAVER
Engineer hustled rider to safety as debris flew
A quick-thinking train operator helped minimize the human wreckage in this week’s Long Island Railroad crash, police said Wednesday.
Three people were killed when two trains collided with a car near the Westbury, L.I., station Tuesday night.
But if it wasn’t for the lightning-fast moves of an LIRR engineer — the toll would have been higher by at least two.
Dodging deadly debris as their Manhattan-bound train flew off the tracks, the rail worker rushed a passenger to safety, authorities said.
“Inside that front car is full of concrete and metal rebars that came through,” said Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Patrick Ryder. “He (the engineer) would’ve been killed if he stayed in the position he was in. It was completely dehardworking stroyed, the front cab.”
The pair had to be rescued from the twisted metal by first responders, police said.
The engineer and a passenger were rushed to Nassau University Medical Center in stable condition. Five other riders were hospitalized with mild injuries.
The three people killed inside the car that drove on the tracks, setting the chaos into motion, were co-workers at Fine Fare Supermarket, about a block from the scene.
Store manager Giovanny Taveras identified the dead men as his dairy department manager Jesus Hernandez, 24, and meat department workers Saul Martinez and Miguel Luna.
“They used to be very good people,” Taveras, 31, told the Daily News. “I know them very well because I’ve been here since day one, for 11 years. They were good people, good co-workers, people.”
Witnesses told police the car was in a minor traffic accident just before the crash.
The vehicle barreled down School St. when it blew past a train gate, ignored flashing lights and was nailed by an eastbound train, cops said.
After that, it spun around and was struck by the Manhattan-bound train and caught fire, police said.
“The only thing that we have left of it (the vehicle) is basically the engine itself,” Ryder said.
“We cannot repeat this enough — please, do not try to beat the train,” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. “There’s nothing so important, and I think we saw that with a very stark clarity last night.”
Both tracks were taken out of service Tuesday night while crews worked to clear the scene and repair the wreckage.
The derailed train was removed by crane on Wednesday afternoon.
A dozen trains were canceled on the Ronkonkoma and Port Jefferson branches during the Wednesday evening rush. Crews were slated to work through the night to restore service and it was unclear if full service would be restored on the lines by Thursday morning, according to MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and law enforcement have launched campaigns about crossing safety, LIRR President Phil Eng explained. The agency has also added flexible, reflective barriers at hazardous locations.
“Why folks try to risk their lives and other people’s lives perhaps to save a few minutes is one I can’t answer because I would never put myself in that situation,” he said.