KINGSTON – A 39-year-old Ulster County man was killed when the 1996 Jeep Cherokee in which he was a passenger was struck by a CSX freight train at the Smith Avenue railroad crossing in Kingston.
City police said the vehicle, driven by a 29-year-old Saugerties woman, was traveling on Smith Avenue just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, when she went around the down railroad crossing gates and was struck on the passenger side by the lead engine of a northbound train.
Both occupants in the vehicle were entrapped for a period of time. The Jaws of Life were used by the Kingston Fire Department to free both.
The female driver sustained relatively minor injuries and was transported to MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. The occupant was transported to Health Alliance Hospital Broadway campus in Kingston where he was pronounced dead.
Police did not release the names of either occupant of the vehicle.
The investigation into the incident is continuing.
