By Jacob Pucci
July 28, 2015
UTICA, N.Y. -- A teenager should face charges for his role in crashing a freight train car into an antique locomotive at Utica's Union Station.
The 13-year-old boy was playing on the freight car on July 21 when the car broke loose and crashed into the locomotive, damaging the train station, Time Warner Cable News reported.
The boy, who was not named, told Utica police it was an accident, according to the report.
Police are investigating whether the boy tampered with the brakes on the freight car, the Utica Observer-Dispatch reported.
The out-of-control freight car barrelled down the middle of one city street and crossed Oriskany Street, a major road in Utica, around 5:30 p.m. The car was moving about 40 mph when it crashed into the locomotive, the Observer-Dispatch reported.
The rail car, which was carrying plastic pellets, was traveling on the New York, Susquehanna and Western's line, which connects to a CSX line.
If the locomotive hadn't been there, it's possible people waiting for a 5:48 p.m. on the other side of the platform could have been struck by the freight car and possibly killed, according to the report.
Union Station is owned by Oneida County and used by Amtrak and Adirondack Scenic Railroad. Buses also use the station. Department of Motor Vehicles and county offices are also housed there.
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Runaway train car smashes into antique locomotive at Union Station in Utica
People
line up to board the Adirondack Scenic Railroad train at Utica's Union
Station in this file photo. On Tuesday a runaway rail car smashed into
an antique locomotive at the station. A runaway train car smashed into an antique steam locomotive Tuesday evening, causing the locomotive to hit a building.
The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. A rail car somehow got away from where it should have been and went down Schuyler Street before hitting the old locomotive, said Melanie Boyer, a spokeswoman for the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway.
The rail car, which was carrying plastic pellets, was traveling on the New York, Susquehanna and Western's line, which connects to a CSX line.
Boyer said the railroad is investigating exactly what happened and how. Police are also investigating.
When the runaway train car hit the antique locomotive, the stationary train display crashed into Union Station near a pedestrian bridge that is part of the building, the Utica Observer-Dispatch reported. A large section of a station wall appeared to have been broken off.
No one was in the part of the building that got hit and no direct injuries from the crash were reported, according to Utica WKTV. Engineers were inspecting the damaged part of the building.
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway operates more than 400 miles of track in three states.
Union Station is owned by Oneida County and is used by Amtrak and Adirondack Scenic Railroad. Buses also use the station and the Department of Motor Vehicles and county offices are housed there.