Talk:Gilchrest Road, New York crossing accident

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I lived one mile from the crash site and was 14 years old at the time of the accident.[edit]

I was attending the Rockland Country Day School on King Highway in Congers, and I regularly bicycled to school across this train crossing. I also went to the crash site a couple of days after the tragedy and took a good hard look at the wreckage, the crossing, and everything else. I wanted to understand what had happened, since I was precisely the same age as a couple of the boys who were killed. The article as currently written contains, I believe, at least two inaccuracies. First, my memory is that there WERE flashing lights at the intersection, but no crossing gates--i.e., the sort that raise and lower, and that were installed after the crash. I don't believe it was an entirely unprotected intersection, in other words. Somebody should research this further. Secondly, Clarkstown is a political entity but not really a place. Both Congers and Valley Cottage are located in the township of Clarkstown, as is New City. This particular crossing was about a mile north of downtown Valley Cottage and a mile south of downtown Congers. I know this because I've walked the two-mile stretch of track from Congers to Valley Cottage and this intersection sits directly between those hamlets. At the time, as a Congers resident, I would have said that the accident took place in a northern part of Valley Cottage--although it also took place in Clarkstown, and Rockland County, and New York State. I hope that this autobiographical excursus will encourage somebody to do further research. 74.229.164.106 (talk) 12:18, 27 January 2009 (UTC)