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)Reply
- I will address the jurisdictional issues here. The dividing line between the Valley Cottage Fire District and the Congers Fire District is the centerline in that area of Gilchrest Road. Both Valley Cottage and Congers are hamlets within the Town of Clarkstown. Technically, the bus MAY have been initially struck in Valley Cottage, if only by a few feet, however the entire aftermath of the event rested squarely within Congers and there has never been any discussion or claim within public safety that this incident fell anywhere but under the jurisdiction of the Congers Fire Department. 911 Guru (talk) 13:48, 7 December 2025 (UTC)Reply
