Westchester school bus driver ticketed for stopping in railroad crossing right of way

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. (WABC) -- Police in Westchester County say a school bus driver has been charged with stopping in the right of way of a railroad crossing.

The incident happened Monday morning on the way to school at the Roaring Brook Road crossing in Chappaqua. Two students and a bus monitor were on board at the time.

Police say the bus driver, 53-year old Nancy Peralta from the Bronx, did stop in front of the tracks but she stopped too close to the tracks so that when the gates came down it struck the top of her bus.

Officials report the driver then tried to back up, but the gate got caught on the brackets which hold her side view mirrors.

Moments later the train came speeding by, but there was just enough clearance to spare an accident.

We're told an officer happened to witness the close call, followed the driver to school, made sure the students with special needs were dropped off without incident, then arrested Peralta.

She is due back in court May 28.

The owner of the bus is Mount Vernon-based Mar Can Transportation.

Authorities say aggressive drivers try to beat the train all the time. In fact, 38 tickets have been written at Roaring Brook Road since March.

The gates have been broken on two separate incidents, despite the horrific crash in February just a few miles away, when an SUV got caught on the tracks as a train came barreling through, leaving six people dead.

"I think there's a misconception on the part of the public that as long as the gates aren't fully down that they can continue to try and beat the gates, and that's just not the case," said Lt. Dan Cannon of the New Castle Police Department.