TOWN OF ESOPUS - A 43-year-old Kingston man was struck and killed by a freight train Saturday morning, police said.
The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said it was notified at 8:44 a.m. that a northbound CSX train had struck a person on the tracks between the Union Center Road and Esopus Avenue railroad crossings in Esopus. The accident scene is near the hamlets of Ulster Park and Orchard Hill.
Deputies who responded found the victim on the tracks, deceased, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s Capt. Harry Van Vliet said the man was carrying identification but that his name would not be released until an autopsy was completed and family members were notified.
Van Vliet said the autopsy could be conducted as early as today.
The captain said witnesses told police the victim was lying on the tracks before being struck by the train, but one witness told the Freeman he saw a man standing along the tracks in that area shortly before the accident. The witness thought the man might have been fishing in a creek that passes below the tracks.
CSX spokesman Garrick Francis said the train was northbound from Richmond, Va., to Selkirk, near Albany, when the accident occurred. He did not know how fast the train was going at the time but said the speed limit on that stretch of track is 50 mph.
The Union Center Road and Esopus Avenue railroad crossings were closed and train traffic was halted for several hours after the accident as sheriff’s deputies, state police and CSX police investigated. A sheriff’s spokesman said at 3 p.m. Saturday that both crossings had reopened and trains were moving again.
The Esopus Fire Department also responded to the scene.
©Daily Freeman 2007