A New York commuter train struck a car on the tracks in a suburban New York City community Tuesday night, killing six people, officials said.
At least 12 people were also hurt when a northbound Harlem Line Metro-North train, which had departed Grand Central Station at 5:44 p.m., hit a car in Valhalla in Westchester County, about 32 miles north of New York City.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority said in a statement that a black Jeep Cherokee was struck around 7 p.m.
The Jeep's female driver, who was outside the SUV at the time of the crash, was killed along with five passengers on the train, the MTA said.
The crash occurred when rail gates apparently came down on top of the Jeep after it had stopped on the tracks. The driver got out to look at the rear of the car, then she got back in and drove forward and was struck by the oncoming train.
The train shoved the SUV about 10 train car lengths north, and the SUV and the front of the train caught fire, said Aaron Donovan, an MTA spokesman.
It was not immediately clear why the SUV had stopped on the tracks.
Smoke poured out of the scorched rail car, its windows blackened.
Passengers described a bump and said they smelled gasoline from the vehicle.
More than 750 passengers likely were aboard the train, including Justin Kaback, commuting home to Danbury, Connecticut.
"I was trapped. You know there was people in front of me and behind me, and I was trapped in the middle of a car and it was getting very hot," he told ABC News. "All the air was turned off so there was no circulation so it was definitely scary especially when people are walking by on the outside and they said, 'The train's on fire. There's a fire.'"
Passenger Stacey Eisner, who was at the rear of the train, told NBC News that she felt the train "jerk" and then a conductor walked through the train explaining what had happened. She said her train car was evacuated about 10 minutes later using ladders to get people out.
Passengers got off from the rear of the train. About 400 of them were taken to a local rock climbing gym for shelter. Buses were heading there to pick them up and take them to their destinations.
Service on Metro-North's Harlem Line has been suspended between Pleasantville and North White Plains.
Metro-North is the nation's second-busiest railroad, after the Long Island Rail Road. It was formed in 1983 and serves about 280,000 riders a day in New York and Connecticut.
Metro-North is the nation's second-busiest railroad, after the Long Island Rail Road. It was formed in 1983 and serves about 280,000 riders a day in New York and Connecticut. Service on its Harlem Line was suspended between Pleasantville and North White Plains after the crash.
Metro-North has had many recent accidents. Late last year, the National Transportation Safety Board issued rulings on five accidents that occurred in New York and Connecticut in 2013 and 2014, repeatedly finding fault with the railroad while also noting that conditions have improved.
Among the accidents was a Dec. 1, 2013, derailment that killed four people, the railroad's first passenger fatalities, in the Bronx. The NTSB said the engineer had fallen asleep at the controls because he had a severe, undiagnosed case of sleep apnea.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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