Long Island Rail Road service is expected to return back to normal by 12:30 p.m., after severe morning delays caused by a man being fatally struck by a train at the Mineola train station shortly before 7 a.m. The man was not a Mineola resident.
According to MTA spokesman Salvatore Arena, witnesses told police that a man jumped in front of the oncoming westbound train, which was running on time and had departed from Ronkonkoma at 6:08 a.m.
Police ordered the LIRR to immediately suspend service west and eastbound through Mineola, affecting the Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson and Oyster Bay lines.
MTA police allowed the LIRR to resume limited service on one of the two tracks affected at 8:15 a.m., after the deceased’s body was removed. Service was then resumed on the Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma branches with significant residual delays. Limited service then resumed on the Oyster Bay branch. Trains moving through Mineola were doing so at greatly reduced speeds.
The LIRR reported delays of up to two hours at the height of the incident, but Arena said service should be back to normal by 12:30 p.m.
A similar incident happened in Westbury earlier this week, when a man was struck by a train at the station during the afternoon rush hour. The man suffered severe trauma and was transported to a local hospital.
