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Cops: Driver in Mattituck LIRR crossing crash had suspended license

GIANNA VOLPE PHOTO | A vehicle flipped over on the Factory Avenue train tracks in Mattituck this morning after it struck the railroad crossing pole.

The driver hospitalized Thursday after crashing her car into a railroad crossing gate in Mattituck has been identified as a 23-year-old Greenport woman who was driving on a suspended license, police said.

In a report describing the incident, Southold police said Shalah Smith was hearing her 1990 Ford Tempo making an unusual noise shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday when she turned her head “in an attempt to locate the problem.”

“When she turned back, her vehicle had left the roadway and collided with [the gate],” police said.

The impact toppled the gate and flipped the car. Ms. Smith was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment for minor injuries.

She was ticketed for third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle due to a suspension of her drivers license, police said.

There were no passengers in the car. MTA police also responded to the scene.

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