Authorities identify woman killed when LIRR train struck her car

Authorities have identified the motorist killed Monday night by a nonpassenger Long Island Rail Road train, which struck her vehicle on the tracks.

Gilma G. Pabon, 66, of Holtsville, New York, appears to have swerved her car around a down crossing gate arm as the train was approaching near Brentwood, Long Island, officials said.

No one else was injured.

A preliminary investigation by the MTA Police reported that a witness saw the crossing gate arm was down and that Pabon had stopped her car in front of it for about 20 seconds. Then “the vehicle operator proceeded around the gate and was struck by the train,” MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco told Metro via email.

DeFalco said the crossing gate had lights and bells, and that the LIRR’s “examination shows the gate was functioning properly.”

The 8 p.m. crash came less than a week after more than 100 passengers were injured when an LIRR morning commuter train hit a platform bumper at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.

“My heart goes out to the family and friends who lost a loved one in this terrible incident,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

Service was halted in both directions during the investigation after the crash and was fully restored by midnight.

On Saturday, an LIRR snow patrol train that was clearing the tracks hit a car that had edged onto the tracks near the Little Neck station in Queens. There were no injures reported.