LIRR Engineer Allowed Passenger to Operate Train

The New York Times reports: "A Long Island Rail Road engineer allowed a passenger to operate a train carrying nearly 400 riders to New York during the morning rush on July 2, and both men now face criminal charges of reckless endangerment, the authorities announced on Wednesday. The engineer, Ronald Cabrera, 40, of Centereach, N.Y., and the passenger, William L. Kutsch, 47, of East Setauket, N.Y., surrendered to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department on Wednesday and have been charged with reckless endangerment in the second degree, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail." The two men "created 'a substantial risk of serious physical injury' to those on the train and in the communities around the tracks, said Kathleen Rice, the Nassau County district attorney, in announcing the charges."