The Scary Incident that Disrupted Holiday Travel

Details of the Incident

Photos and videos shared on social media vividly showed the black Honda hatchback making its way along the LIRR tracks near the Elmont-UBS Arena station. It happened shortly before 5 p.m., and the LIRR attributed the disruptions to "police activity east of Bellerose," which is just east of the UBS Arena. Marvin Kirschenbaum, who was returning from seeing a play in Manhattan with his wife and a friend, found himself caught up in the chaos. When he got off at Jamaica to change trains, he saw a scene with few trains running and large crowds of travelers looking for information and a way home. After two hours of delays, when he finally returned to his Plainview home Sunday night, he saw images of the car on what seemed to be an elevated portion of the tracks. He couldn't believe how it could have happened and described it as "scary beyond belief."

The LIRR officials on Monday did not immediately respond to requests for more information about how the car got onto the tracks and how it eventually got off. However, full service was restored shortly before 9 p.m., and there were no reported service issues during the Monday morning rush hour.

Not the First Time Such an Incident Occurred

This isn't the first time a motorist has found themselves driving along the LIRR's right of way. In 2018, the railroad noticed a significant increase in such instances as GPS apps on phones became more popular. Drivers, misunderstanding the dictated directions, unintentionally turned onto the LIRR's tracks. In March of that year, a train struck a car that had entered the tracks at a crossing in Mineola, causing extensive damage to the vehicle and the tracks and hours of delays. Police in that case said the driver misunderstood GPS directions and turned onto the tracks at the Willis Avenue crossing.

The rise in "unauthorized vehicles" on the tracks led the LIRR to expedite the installation of devices that more clearly identified railroad crossings, including reflective markings. These measures are aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.