52 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Greenwich (CT) Daily Voice, posted 2/23:
 

Blumenthal Calls For More Facts As NTSB Issues Report On Metro-North Crash

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) criticized the preliminary report released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board into the deadliest accident in Metro-North's history, in which six people were killed at a railroad crossing in Valhalla, N.Y., nearly three weeks ago.

 

The NTSB has said it could take a year to complete its full investigation of a train fire and explosion that followed a collision with a Mercedes SUV at the Commerce Street crossing. The SUV was on the track when it was struck by the northbound commuter train about 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3.

 

“Unfortunately, today’s report reveals no new facts about the disastrous Metro-North crash earlier this month," Blumenthal said. "I urge the NTSB and other investigators to move forward swiftly with investigating and releasing critical facts and recommendations for reform. 

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

Capital New York, 2/23/15:

 

 

Schumer calls Metro-North engineer a hero

 

 

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer hailed the engineer of the Metro-North train involved in a deadly crash in Valhalla earlier this month a “true hero” after a National Transportation Safety Board report issued Monday indicated the engineer activated the train's emergency breaks 300 feet before the collision, when he saw a vehicle on the tracks.

 

More here.

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 2/25/15:

 

NTSB: 12 sections of third rail found inside damaged Metro-North car

 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday issued its preliminary report on the Feb. 3 collision between an MTA Metro-North Railroad train and a sport utility vehicle at a crossing in Valhalla, N.Y.

The collision caused six fatalities, including the SUV driver. About 650 passengers were on board the train.

This story

[KevinKorell]

Journal-News, White Plains, NY, 3/7/15:

 

Metro-North crash: Mount Kisco man to sue for $10m

 

A Mount Kisco man who was on the Metro-North train involved in last month's deadly crash is seeking $10 million in damages from the railroad, its parent agency and the state.

This story

[Sloan]

 

 

Family of Ellen Brody, driver in Metro-North crash, to sue

 

The family of Ellen Brody, the driver at the center of the deadliest crash in Metro-North history, plans to sue the railroad and others for her death, saying a badly-designed grade crossing that should have been closed years ago is to blame and not the mother of three.

 

Her family has filed a notice of claim, the first step before a lawsuit can be pursued. It does not say how much they are seeking in damages.

http://www.lohud.com...wsuit/26872393/

[KevinKorell]

So here come the ambulance chasers.  While it is possible she might have gotten trapped between the gates, it was on her to get herself out of that predicament after getting herself into it.  The driver is ultimately responsible for her vehicle, and entering the tracks not knowing she would not be able to make it across is the driver's fault.  This can and will get messy, no doubt.  Ellen's family is suing in hopes of recovering money that they will need to settle the lawsuits that will be coming their way from the other victims who were injured in the incident, or the families of those who perished.

[CNJRoss]

NTSB news release:

 

NTSB Opens Docket on Collision Between Metro-North Train and SUV in New York

 

December 16, 2015

 

WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board today opened the public docket on the investigation into the collision between a Metro North train and an SUV in Valhalla, N.Y., on February 3, 2015.

 

The opening of the docket is part of the ongoing investigation into the crash that fatally injured six and injured more than a dozen.

 

The docket, which contains more than 1,100 documents, will not include analysis, but will include interview summaries, photographs, and factual reports. The analysis and probable cause for the accident will be issued at a later date.

 

The docket information can be accessed here: http://dms.ntsb.gov/...?docketID=58036

[CNJRoss]

The Journal News, White Plains, NY 12/18:
 

Valhalla train crash: Top 5 investigation documents

 

Below are five documents in the NTSB’s database on the investigation into the February crash that you should read.

 

SNIP

 

1: The grieving husband: Alan Brody, Ellen Brody’s husband, was interviewed two months after his wife and five others were killed. He has a lawyer present during the interview, and so his responses are careful and measured, for the most part. He’s asked if his wife was a good driver, if she liked wine, if she listened to the car radio, if the car was in good shape, and Brody answers, calmly, until it appears to become too much to bear. “There was snow everywhere,” he says. “Obviously she didn' t know she was sitting on a railroad crossing.”

 

More  here.

[Sloan]

 

 

2016 could be a costly year for Metro-North

The nearly $40 million that Metro-North Railroad has shelled out to date to settle legal claims filed after a string of deadly crashes over the past three years will increase substantially in 2016.

So far, 174 of 292 legal claims have been resolved in five major accidents dating back to May 2013.

http://www.lohud.com...Key=&autologin=

 

The railroad's insurance carriers properly paid out on the Spuyten Duyvil crash.  Regarding Valhalla, my non-legal training speculates that the insurance carriers would fight accident victim claims due to negligence on the part of the SUV driver who got trapped between crossing gates. Maybe the insurance carrier would counter-sue.  Oh well, I hope Metro-North has a strong phalanx of lawyers.  

Sloan

[KevinKorell]

New York, NY Post, 3/17/16:
 

Train crash widower reveals his living hell

 
With magazines strewn about, tanned vacation faces smiling from photo frames and apple pie baking in the oven, it looks like a regular Saturday at the Brody house in Edgemont, NY.
 
Except the matriarch is absent.

Update