GREENPORT — The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has identified the victim of the fatal train accident in Greenport as Anna M. Podgorbunski, 54, of New York City, Lt. Louis Bray said Saturday morning.
The woman died Friday evening after she was struck by a southbound Amtrak train as she walked northbound on the tracks in Greenport, Bray said.
Podgorbunski was pronounced dead at the scene about 1.5 miles north of the Hudson Amtrak station by Columbia County Coroner Bernadette Powis.
Police gave no reason why the woman was walking in the area.
At about 7:44 p.m., Hudson and Greenport firefighters, and Greenport Rescue Squad, were sent by Columbia County 911 to the railroad tracks, north of the city, after receiving reports that a woman had been struck by a train and landed in the water.
A command post was set up in the area of Dock Street and Front Street, near the historic Furgary Fishing Village in Hudson. Fire and rescue personnel and police used ATVs to reach the accident scene.
Athens firefighters were stationed at the Hudson boat launch with a boat and their dive team, if they were needed. A LifeNet helicopter was placed on standby, but was not needed.
All train traffic through the area was halted. Amtrak identified the train involved in the accident as train 64 on their website. The train departed Niagara Falls at 12:17 p.m., en route to Penn Station in New York.
The train remained at the scene for several hours following the accident, until they were cleared to leave by investigators. Two northbound Amtrak trains waited at the Hudson station until 10:15 p.m., until they were cleared to proceed through the accident scene with caution.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation. They were assisted by Hudson police, state police, Amtrak police, and the Columbia County Fire and EMS Coordinator’s Office.