HYDE PARK – Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with an abandoned truck that struck an Amtrak passenger train in Hyde Park in early October, Hyde Park Police Chief Robert Benson said.
The train was carrying 196 passengers at the time.
Police responded to the October 9 train accident at minutes before 11 p.m. in the area of 33 River Point Road. The initial call to 911 reported a car versus train accident. Responding officers found a pickup truck on the tracks with front-end damage sustained when it was struck by the Amtrak train.
Police learned that the truck had been stolen earlier in the evening from the Hyde Park Marina and abandoned on the train tracks, where it was subsequently struck by the train. Chief Benson said that there were no reports of injuries from the collision.
Following a lengthy investigation, a 17-year-old was arrested at Hyde Park Police headquarters on October 19 and charged with felony grand larceny and the misdemeanors of reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. The second 17-year-old was arrested at police headquarters on October 23 and is facing the same charges.
Both teens were released to the supervision of the Dutchess County Department of Probation after they were arraigned.
