Person Fatally Hit By Train In Forest Hills, Prompting Delays

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A person was fatally hit by a Long Island Rail Road train in Forest Hills on Tuesday morning, prompting delays between Queens and Manhattan amid rush hour, city agencies announced.

Emergency teams rushed to the LIRR station on 71st Avenue to respond to a person pinned under a train at about 7:05 a.m., the Fire Department said.

The straphanger was found dead on the tracks, according to the FDNY, which would not say how the person got onto the tracks (the NYPD is investigating the incident).

As a result, LIRR service was temporarily suspended between Penn Station and Jamaica, according to the MTA, but the transit agency got trains back up and running by 7:30 a.m. — albeit with some delays.

About an hour after the accident, the MTA told commuters to expect 10 to 15 minute LIRR delays between Penn Station and Jamaica in both directions, with some cancelations or diversions to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.

LIRR trains won't stop at the Woodside, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens stations, the transit agency announced at 8:00 a.m.

Instead, the MTA encouraged straphangers to use nearby subway stations and present an LIRR ticket to the station agent for free entry.

This incident is the second time that a person died in a Forest Hills subway station in February.

It also comes after a particularly gruesome weekend in the city's subway system, where several people were stabbed and another was killed while walking on the tracks.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, there are resources to help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255. Its website offers services including a live chat.