(09/28/06) LAWRENCE - A former state senator fell through the gap at the Long Island Rail Road train station in Lawrence Thursday afternoon.

LIRR officials say the sun got in the eyes of 82-year-old Carol Berman as she exited the train, preventing her from seeing the foot-long gap between the train and platform. Emergency crews were able to rescue Berman, who was traveling from Flatbush to Far Rockaway. Berman was taken to St. John?s Hospital in Far Rockaway for treatment. Police say she suffered injuries to her ankles, legs and ribs.

This is the third time in the past three months that a passenger fell through a LIRR station gap. Earlier in the summer, a moving train killed an 18-year-old Minnesota woman after she fell at the Woodside station.