A car crashed and burst into flames along the Metro-North railroad tracks in Tarrytown before dawn on Friday, seriously injuring the driver and forcing trains to stop while crews battled the blaze near Paulding Avenue.
Tarrytown police received multiple 911 calls reporting a loud noise and possible fire around 5:37 a.m., according to News12. Officers arrived near Paulding Avenue and the railroad tracks and found the vehicle burning along the westernmost side of the rail line, the station reported.
Trains Halted as Crews Rushed to the Scene
Once officers confirmed the fire, Tarrytown police notified Metro-North to stop trains, per the same News12 account. The Tarrytown Fire Department responded and extinguished the flames, while the driver suffered serious injuries in the crash.
The driver was transported to Westchester Medical Center by the Tarrytown ambulance corps and remained in serious condition, the station's report notes. Tarrytown police are now investigating the incident, with Metro-North police and Westchester County police assisting, according to the article.
Authorities Have Released Few Additional Details
No additional information had been made public by authorities as of the report, and News12 said it had contacted the Tarrytown Police Department for further details and was still awaiting a response. What caused the crash, or how the vehicle ended up alongside the tracks, has not been disclosed.
Vehicles ending up on or near Metro-North's rails are not unheard of in the region. In October 2020, a car crashed through a fence at a Pleasantville parking lot and landed on the tracks near the Pleasantville station, according to Daily Voice. That driver was also taken to Westchester Medical Center, though the outlet reported the person's condition was unknown later that day, and the crash caused temporary delays on the Harlem Line while first responders cleared the scene.
Fires along the rails near Tarrytown itself are not without precedent either, though past incidents have been far less serious. westchester.news12.com reported that a track equipment train caught fire south of the Tarrytown station at 1:49 a.m. during one earlier overnight incident, causing only slight delays on the Hudson Line. The same fire on a rail-mounted maintenance vehicle in Tarrytown caused no injuries and only mild disruption to the schedule, with a northbound train out of Greystone delayed about 45 minutes, according to The Hudson Independent.
Friday's crash appears far more serious given the driver's reported injuries. Tarrytown police have not released the driver's identity or further details on how the fire started, and the investigation remains active.
