A suspected drunk driver went off the rails on Sunday night when he went on a wild joyride along the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) tracks in New York City.
Basilio Hidalgo, 40, from Brooklyn, New York was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, criminal trespassing in the third degree, and driving while intoxicated over the bizarre incident, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department said.
Officers were called to the LIRR tracks between Bellerose and Floral Park Stations at around 5 p.m. on Sunday to find a stationary car on fire on the tracks.
According to police, the suspect had driven his black Honda Sport SUV off the road onto the tracks just west of the Elmont-UBS Arena station.
He then allegedly drove around half a mile along the tracks before the vehicle’s tires burst into flames just east of Bellerose Station.
Firefighters from the Floral Park Fire Department quickly extinguished the blaze and Hidalgo was taken into custody.
The incident caused significant delays on the LIRR on the Hempstead Branch, the Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson, and Oyster Bay Branches.
Authorities removed the vehicle from the tracks and repaired two damaged tracks, with services back up and running by 9 p.m., the MTA said.
