Car Struck by a Train in Kingston on Sunday
According to a facebook post from the Kingston Professional Firefighters Association there was an accident early Sunday at a train crossing in Kingston. They responded to the accident which occured Sunday morning when a driver apparently failed to yield to a train at the crossing. According to the report that was shared from the Daily Freeman the drive was injured and was alone in the vehicle.
If you live on the Ulster side of the Hudson River chances are you have encountered a train at a crossing and had to wait. The CSX Line that runs along the west side of the Hudson River is a busy track. I know from personal experience that waiting for a train can be annoying but I can also state emphatically that trying to outrun a train or go around a crossing is just plain stupid.
The tracks that this accident took place on is known to a lot of us. In Newburgh some of the track is elevated. You may recall back in March of 2017 when one of the trains derailed in the New Windsor area closing the road alongside the track for days while clean up was being done. Most of the way up the west side the track follows the river. If you live in Highland and want to head to the waterfront you must cross the tracks. Just north of West Park is where the tracks head inland. And we are all familiar with them running along Ulster Avenue in Kingston.
I personally have to cross the tracks everyday go to work and then again coming home. And like a lot of you I am sure we have all been caught at the tracks when either the arms are down and there is no train or the arms are down and a train is stopped on the tracks. Just an FYI from what I have observed both of those scenarios usually mean a train is on the way so again going around the crossing arms is a really bad plan.