By Mustafa Caglayan
NEW YORK
Seven people were killed Tuesday after a commuter train collided with a car north of New York City, authorities said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told a press conference that six people aboard the train and the car's driver were killed in the crash. At least 12 others were said to be injured.
The northbound Metro North Railroad train, packed with 655 commuters, struck a Jeep Cherokee at a railroad crossing about 32 kilometers north of New York City, a railroad spokesperson said.
The incident happened after the railroad crossing gates came down on top of the car, stopping it on the tracks at a narrow, two-lane crossing, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson Aaron Donovan said.
The Harlem Line train then struck the car, pushing it about 10 train car lengths along the tracks and triggering a fire in the front carriage, he added.
Four people were killed and more than 50 others were injured in December 2014 when a Metro North train derailed on a sharp curve in the Bronx borough.
Metro North is the second-busiest railroad in the U.S. after the Long Island Rail Road.
