AP: Officials say six people were killed and at least 12 people were injured when a commuter train struck a vehicle on the tracks north of New York City.
Metro-North Railroad spokesman Aaron Donovan says the northbound train struck a Jeep Cherokee at a railroad crossing in Valhalla on Tuesday evening.
Donovan says the fatalities consisted of the vehicle's female driver and five people aboard the train.
The fiery scene began to unfold about 6:30 p.m. when the Harlem Line train out of Grand Central Terminal struck the black Jeep Cherokee at the narrow, two-lane Commerce Street crossing, causing an explosion that ignited both the car and the train.
"The gates came down on top of the vehicle, which was stopped on the tracks," he said in a statement. "The driver got out to look at the rear of the car, then she got back in and drove forward and was stuck."
Donovan said the force from the impact pushed the Cherokee about 10 train car lengths north of the crossing.
The train involved was a 5:44 p.m. train from Grand Central Terminal, due in Southeast at 7:08 p.m.
Numerous police and fire departments responded to what was quickly labeled a "mass-casualty" incident.
David Billig, director of media relations at Westchester County Medical Center, could not confirm any of the injuries, but he said that officials at the hospital, one of the only Level 1 trauma centers in the area, were readying for patients from the crash
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