Conn. Man Files Lawsuit Vs. Metro-North In Fatal Crash

PUTNAM COUNTY, N.Y. -- A Danbury, Conn., man injured in a collision last month between a car and a Metro-North train in New York plans to sue the commuter railroad, according to a story in The News-Times.

The Commerce Street railroad crossing in Valhalla where a train-SUV accident Feb. 3 killed six people.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Tom Renner

03/10/2015 5:35 p.m.

Julia Gonzalo Loja Mendoza was injured on Feb. 3, when a Metro-North train struck a vehicle in Valhalla. Mendoza, a construction worker, was riding in the middle of the first car, the story said. He was treated for injuries to his head, neck, spine, shoulders, chest and hands after jumping from the train.

Mendoza's lawyer, Agostinho J. Ribeiro, says his client has been unable to work since the accident.

Last week, a Mount Kisco lawyer filed an intent to sue. Michael Colquhoun, 55, named the railroad, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York state in a $10 million claim filed by Manhattan attorney Robert Vilensky.

Ellen Brody, 49, of Edgemont, was driving a Mercedes SUV that was on the railroad tracks at Commerce Street in Valhalla, after a gate came down on the rear of her vehicle. When the train struck her car, there was an explosion, and the third rail pierced the first two cars of the northbound commuter train. The crash killed Brody and five male passengers in the first rail car.

Click here for the News-Times story.

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