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Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino called it "a day we never want to deal with."
Ellen Brody, 49, of Edgemont had left her job in Chappaqua before encountering a traffic jam along the Taconic State Parkway in Mount Pleasant that followed a head-on collision. Brody was unfamiliar with the dark, narrow roads that crisscross the Taconic and railroad tracks in Valhalla.
As bumper-to-bumper traffic was detoured over railroad tracks at Commerce Street, Brody briefly stepped out of her Mercedes SUV to check a crossing gate that came down on the rear of her car raising new questions about the crash.
Also killed in the 6:30 p.m. collision on Feb. 3, 2015, were: Bedford Hills residents Eric Vandercar, 53, and Walter Liedtke, 69; New Castle residents Robert Dirks, 36, and Joseph Nadol, 42; and Aditya Tomar, 41, of Danbury, Conn. More about the passengers killed can be found by clicking here.
Rick Hope of Yorktown Heights said he motioned for Brody to back up only to watch her return to her car and pull forward, just as a northbound train passed. The Mercedes was pierced by the third rail which also pierced the front railcars, setting them on fire.
Nearly 200 people were impacted by the crash, prompting dozens of lawsuits against Metro-North and New York state.
Public records and findings from a year-long investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board can be found online here.
No new federal documents have been filed since December 2015, according to the NTSB docket, which can be found by clicking here.
On Wednesday, Eric M. Weiss, a spokesman for the NTSB, said an update on its investigation could be expected "in the spring."
A year ago, Gary Holmes, director of communications for the state Department of Transportation, said, “The NTSB has said the rail crossing functioned as designed. Further enhancements at this crossing – and others – are possible based on NTSB recommendations following the final report.”
During the past year, state and federal legislators secured money to study rail crossings like the one in Valhalla in hopes of eventually installing upgraded signals, gates or other safety devices.
Brody's husband, Alan, is not surprised that little has been done to improve safety at Commerce Street. "No news just yet but there is likely to be something quite soon," Brody said on Friday.
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