(Updated – 2:55 p.m.) A man lying on the railroad tracks in Riverhead was struck by a westbound train east of the Mill Road crossing this afternoon at approximately 1:30.
The victim being airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Riverhead Police are at the scene. Riverhead Fire Department has been called to secure a landing zone at Riverhead High School, where RVAC will transport the patient for transfer.
The extent of the man’s injuries were not immediately known but police said they do not believe the man’s injuries to be life-threatening. The “cow-catcher” on the front of the engine car appears to have thrown the man off the track, police said, preventing him from being run over.
The man was apparently intoxicated, Riverhead Police said. This is the second time in a week that a man lying on the railroad track in Riverhead has been struck by an LIRR passenger train.
Mill Road is closed to traffic between Hinda Boulevard and West Main Street.
The westbound train was scheduled to depart from Greenport at 12:42 p.m. There were passengers aboard, according to Riverhead Town Police.
They would remain on board until the MTA police arrive and the scene could be cleared and the train moved to a place where they could disembark, police said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect additional information provided by police.
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