Train crashes into SUV after driver abandons vehicle on tracks, deputies say

Esopus, N.Y. — After a train crashed into an SUV in Upstate New York, responders combed the area surrounding the tracks to find and help anyone injured in the crash.

Troopers eventually found the driver of the smashed-up vehicle uninjured in a nearby patch of woods. Detectives then made a surprising discovery: The man intentionally parked his 2022 Chevrolet Equinox on the railroad tracks before abandoning the SUV to be crumpled by a train, deputies said.

The crash happened around 2:05 p.m. south of the Esopus Avenue railroad crossing in Esopus, a town in the Hudson Valley.

Emergency responders rushed to the tracks and found a damaged SUV with a car seat in the back on the west side of the railroad, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. A deputy crawled into the back of the vehicle to make sure no child was trapped inside, deputies said.

Firefighters from two departments worked with deputies to search the area surrounding the tracks for victims.

Deputies were still scanning the wooded area when New York State Police troopers reported they were chasing a man through woods a few miles away near the Shaupeneak Ridge trailhead and Old Post Road, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies responded to the trail and helped troopers take the “disorderly” man into custody, deputies said.

The man — David Rivera, 31, of Bridgeport, Connecticut — was not injured.

No charges were immediately announced. Deputies said the investigation remains “open and active”.

The train involved in the crash had engine damage, deputies said, and was repaired by CSX mechanics. Railroad traffic resumed just before 7 p.m. Tuesday after the damaged SUV was removed.