Taxi driver and passenger hit by LIRR train in Manorville

Long Island Morning Edition

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A taxi driver died and a passenger remained in serious but stable condition after a Long Island Rail Road train struck the cab at a grade crossing in Manorville yesterday, MTA police said.

John Valenti and Nicholas Grasso report in NEWSDAY that according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority police, Daniel Seagren, 49, of Ronkonkoma, was driving an East End Transportation taxi northbound on Wading River Road in Manorville around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Following a preliminary investigation, police said Seagren drove the taxi around the crossing gates while they were in the down position with lights flashing and bells sounding. A spokesperson for the MTA police said the taxi "appeared to have stopped on the tracks" and was subsequently struck by the eastbound LIRR train destined for Greenport.

Seagren and the taxi's passenger, who MTA police did not immediately identify, were inside the vehicle, which authorities said sustained major damage.

Seagren was extricated by ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center. He was pronounced dead last night, the MTA said.

The taxi's passenger, who Second Assistant Manorville Fire Chief Chris Steel said was in the back seat of the vehicle after he arrived on the scene Tuesday afternoon, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital. MTA police said he is in serious but stable condition.

Steel said he and other first responders arrived on the scene just after 12:30 p.m. He said he spoke to the train's conductor, who confirmed the 46 people on board had not sustained any injuries. The chief said a heavy rescue crew cut the roof and doors off the vehicle to extricate its occupants. EMTs then tended to the driver and passenger.

An LIRR spokeswoman said the train involved in the crash "proceeded east to Riverhead with passengers at approximately 2:15 p.m. The train terminated at Riverhead, and any passengers looking for service to Greenport were accommodated by substitute bus service."

As of last night, the Ronkonkoma branch of the LIRR was on or close to normal schedule. Earlier the branch had been suspended and bus service was substituted, the LIRR said.

The investigation is ongoing, the MTA said.

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U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced her push for federal funding to research tick-borne illnesses during a visit to the Quogue Wildlife Refuge on Monday afternoon. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the funding that Gillibrand is calling for in next year’s government funding bill would allocate an additional $200 million to fight tick-borne illnesses, specifically Lyme disease. This includes $30 million to the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a national strategy on tick-borne diseases, $30 million to the CDC for Lyme disease research, $9 million to the Department of Defense’s Tick-Borne Disease Research Program and $130 million to the National Institutes of Health for tick-borne disease research. Gillibrand said that addressing tick-borne illnesses is “a life-and-death issue,” specifically in New York and on Long Island, which have some of the highest rates of tick-borne illnesses in the country. She noted that this is particularly an issue during the summer. Senator Gillibrand also said that tick-borne diseases pose a particular threat to service members and their families, as “the vast majority of military bases are located in states where exposure to ticks and the diseases they carry is especially high,” which can pose a national security risk. The senator said that despite the increasing risk of tick-borne illnesses due to various factors, federal funding hasn’t increased enough to correspond with the risk. Gillibrand vowed to work with her congressional colleagues to secure the funding and “continue to prioritize this important reaching,” saying that “New Yorkers deserve the freedom to spend time outdoors without worrying about facing a debilitating or serious illness from a tick bite.”