In an accident that briefly shut down service between Hicksville and Huntington yesterday afternoon, a Syosset Taxi driver crashed his cab through a fence and onto the third rail of LIRR tracks near Jackson Avenue. It then caught fire (dramatic photo here), with both the driver and passenger inside.

Both were pulled from the burning vehicle and taken to Syosset Hospital with minor injuries. The driver blames faulty brakes, saying his car sped up even when he applied the emergency brake. He told Newsday (subscription required), "It doesn't make any sense. Rather than drive forward and hit the car in front of me, I pulled off onto the sidewalk, but the car wouldn't stop. It went faster onto the tracks." The driver, who has been with the Syosset Taxi company for just five days, was issued tickets for reckless driving and blocking a rail intersection.

Buses were ordered to transport stranded passengers yesterday, as the crash damaged the eastbound and westbound tracks and the third rail. Repairs were completed by yesterday afternoon, and the crash doesn't seem to have affected the morning commute.