2015 — Feb 3, Metro-North Railroad train (5 deaths) hits SUV at crossing, Valhalla, NY– 6

–7 NY Times. “Metro-North Train Hits S.U.V. in Railroad’s Deadliest Accident.” 2-3-2015.
–6 Associated Press. “SUV driver’s behavior under scrutiny in deadly train crash.” 2-6-2015.
–6 NTSB. Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Collision, Commerce St., Valhalla, NY, Feb 3, 2015, p. i.

Narrative Information

NTSB Abstract: “On February 3, 2015, at 6:26 p.m., a vehicle driven by a 49-year-old woman, traveled northwest on Commerce Street in Valhalla, New York, toward a highway-railroad grade crossing. The driver entered the boundary of the grade crossing and stopped. The driver then moved beyond the boundary and stopped adjacent to the railroad tracks. The grade crossing warning system activated and the gate came down, striking the rear of the vehicle. She exited her vehicle, examined the gate, then returned to her vehicle and moved forward on to the tracks. Meanwhile, a Metro-North Railroad train approached the grade crossing. The engineer activated the emergency brakes and collided with the vehicle at 51 mph. The train and the vehicle continued north, damaging the electrified third rail which pierced the vehicle and penetrated the lead railcar. Five passengers died and nine passengers and the engineer were injured, all in the lead railcar. The driver of the vehicle also died. The NTSB made new recommendations to the Federal Transit Administration; Metro-North; Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak, Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority; the New York Department of Transportation, and the town of Mount Pleasant, New York.” (National Transportation Safety Board. Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Collision, Commerce Street, Valhalla, New York, February 3, 2015. Adopted 7-25-2017, p. i.)

Newspaper

Feb 3, New York Times: “A crowded Metro-North Railroad train passing through Westchester County at the height of the evening rush on Tuesday slammed into a sport-utility vehicle on the tracks at a crossing, creating a fiery crash and explosion that killed seven people, injured a dozen and forced the evacuation of hundreds. It was the deadliest crash in the railroad’s history.

“Passengers were temporarily stranded after evacuating the train, as its front car continued to release billowing smoke into the cold night air. Service was suspended on the Harlem line on Tuesday night as firefighters responded to the smoking car and officials said they were investigating what had led to the crash.

“The train hit the S.U.V., a black Jeep Cherokee, in the crossing at Commerce Street in Valhalla, N.Y., around 6:30 p.m., officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. The driver of the vehicle and six people on the train were killed, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said after touring the scene late Tuesday. The train hit the S.U.V., a black Jeep Cherokee, in the crossing at Commerce Street in Valhalla, N.Y., around 6:30 p.m., officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. The driver of the vehicle and six people on the train were killed, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said after touring the scene late Tuesday. ‘This is a truly ugly and brutal sight,’ he said. Mr. Cuomo said the car was stopped on the tracks and the crossing gates were down when it was hit by the train, resulting in a fire that consumed the vehicle and the first car of the train. The train pushed the S.U.V. about 400 feet, and the explosion caused the third rail of the track to go through the front train car, Mr. Cuomo said.

“Passengers were evacuated through the back of the train. About 400 of them were taken to a local rock-climbing gym for shelter, where buses were to take them to the next working station, said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the authority.

“Ten people were seriously injured and two others had injuries that were not life threatening, Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, said. They were taken to local hospitals. The locomotive engineer on the train was among the injured. One passenger, Scott Miller, 45, said he was riding in the second car of the train when he heard a bang….

“According to preliminary information, the gates at the crossing came down on top of the S.U.V., which had stopped on the tracks, Mr. Donovan said. The driver got out of the vehicle to look at the rear of the car, then got back in and drove forward. Then the vehicle was struck, he said. Mr. Astorino said that the crash appeared to be the S.U.V. driver’s fault, not the conductor’s….

The transportation authority’s chairman, Thomas F. Prendergast, said the express train usually carried around 655 people, and can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour….

“James E. Hall, a former chairman of the safety board, said he expected investigators to consider whether gasoline escaping from the Jeep had set the train car on fire. He said it was unusual for a passenger train to burst into flames in a crash, but he added that ‘anytime you have friction in an accident there’s a possibility of flammability.’….” (New York Times. “Metro-North Train Hits S.U.V. in Railroad’s Deadliest Accident.” 2-3-2015.)

Source

Associated Press. “SUV driver’s behavior under scrutiny in deadly train crash.” 2-6-2015. Accessed 10-26-2022 at: https://www.myrecordjournal.com/Archive/2015/02/TrainCarCollision-RJ-020515

NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Collision, Commerce Street, Valhalla, New York, February 3, 2015. Washington, DC: Accident Report NTSB/RAR-17/01, PB2017-102658, adopted 7-25-2017, 79 pages. Accessed 10-26-2022 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/RAR1701.pdf

New York Times. “Metro-North Train Hits S.U.V. in Railroad’s Deadliest Accident.” 2-3-2015. Accessed 10-26-2022 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/nyregion/metro-north-train-hits-vehicle-on-tracks.html?smid=url-share

Sheehy, Michael. Email of 11-12-2021 informing me of this incident and providing information and a link to the New York Times article.