Two people were injured when one vehicle was apparently rear-ended by another at a Riverhead railroad crossing and pushed into the path of an oncoming train, authorities said.
One driver was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital and the other victim was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, said Riverhead Sgt. John Devereaux. Both had non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
The 15 people on board the train, headed from Greenport to Ronkonkoma, were not injured, said Aaron Donovan, a Long Island Rail Road spokesman.
The accident occurred about 1:45 p.m. at the Mill Road crossing, Donovan said.
It was unclear whether the train hit both vehicles, he said.
A tan Honda CRV could be seen badly damaged on the south side of the tracks. The other car, which police said was a gray Mercedes sedan, was on the north side.
Town police said Mill Road was closed in both directions at MTA police investigated.
The accident comes a day after the MTA formalized a partnership with the nation’s leading rail safety organization to raise awareness about railroad track dangers, including through a first-of-its-kind advertising campaign.
The respective heads of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the nonprofit Operation Lifesaver Inc. signed the agreement that will see the two groups work together on several rail safety initiatives.
The MTA reached out to the Alexandra, Virginia-based organization after a Metro-North train struck a vehicle at a Valhalla crossing in February, killing the motorist and six train passengers.