20 Commuters Injured in New York Truck, Train Collision

Most suffered cuts and bruises; the most serious injury was a broken leg.

The accident closed down the Harlem Line in both directions for six hours, causing chaos for commuters, who were forced to use shuttle buses around the accident scene.

The train operator slammed on the brakes after he spotted the truck at 8:37 a.m. at the Greens Lane crossing in Bedford Hills - but it was too late to avoid the collision.

The six-car train, which was carrying about 200 passengers, was traveling about 50 mph.

The truck driver was out of the vehicle and escaped injury.

The crash punctured holes on the side of the train, shattered windows and sent seats flying into the air.

All the cars were damaged but the train, which was scheduled to arrive at Grand Central Terminal at 9:33 a.m., was not derailed.

The tracks were cleared by 2:30 p.m. and service was fully restored in time for the afternoon commute.

Truck driver See Singchichana, 43, who works for Colorado-based Continental Transport, told MTA cops that he had gotten lost after delivering six cars to a dealership in Mount Kisco and was trying to make a three-point turn near the crossing.

Singchichana said that's when the truck got stuck - and he got out of the vehicle to call a tow truck.

He said he stood near the crossing for about 10 minutes trying to call for a tow when the train smashed into his truck.

Metro North spokesman Dan Brucker said the driver could have avoided the accident by calling the railroad instead of the towing company.

He said there are two large signs posted at the crossing asking people to call a number in the case of emergencies.

"If he had called that number, we would have alerted the train," Brucker said.

"That didn't happen in this case."

Singchichana was slapped with four summonses for failing to obey traffic rules, not having a secured fire extinguisher in his truck, not having an updated travel logbook and failing to clear a railroad crossing, officials said.

Continental Transport would not comment.

Brucker said Singchichana volunteered to give a blood sample, which came up negative for drugs or alcohol.

"The tests came up clean," he said.