School Bus Driver Charged in Chappaqua Rail Crossing Incident
A 53-year-old school bus driver was cited for a vehicle and traffic law violation Monday morning after the railroad barriers at the Roaring Brook Road grade crossing in Chappaqua came down on the vehicle.
Nancy Peralta, of Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, was ticketed by New Castle Police Officer Brian Bruno at 7:52 a.m., who was conducting traffic observation at the time. Peralta drove her mini bus up to the crossing and came to a stop at the edge of the train tracks as the crossing gate lowered, said New Castle police Lt. Daniel Cannon.
There were two students and a bus monitor aboard the vehicle at the time of the incident, police said.
Cannon said Peralta was charged because under state VTL law a driver is required to stop at least 15 feet from the crossing unless he or she can completely cross over the tracks before the gates lower.
Peralta put the mini bus, which is owned by Mar Can Transportation of Mount Vernon, in reverse but stopped when the crossing gate became stuck on the brackets protruding from the body of the bus, police said.
The vehicle’s front end was beyond the gate and inside the Metro-North right of way as the oncoming train passed by. There was no collision and no injuries as a result of the incident, police said.
Cannon said in the past few months the department has increased its patrols near the crossing to target dangerous and unlawful driving and increase public awareness about what how to navigate the crossing.
“We’re giving out a lot of tickets because of safety concerns at that particular crossing,” Cannon said.
Since the fatal accident at the Commerce Street crossing in Valhalla on Feb. 3 which killed the driver of an SUV and five passengers in the front car of the train, New Castle officials and the municipality’s state and federal representatives have stepped up public discussion about the hazards at Roaring Brook Road and the need for millions in funding to make improvements at that location.
The crossing is in close proximity to Saw Mill Parkway and Horace Greeley High School and is highly congested, especially during rush hour.
Peralta was released on an appearance ticket and is due at Town of New Castle Court on Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
