| Valhalla train crash | |
|---|---|
 NTSB investigators survey the vehicles involved in the accident | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Date | February 3, 2015 6:26 p.m. EST (23:26 UTC) |
| Location | Valhalla, New York |
| Coordinates | 41°05′11″N 73°47′17″W / 41.08628°N 73.78804°W |
| Country | United States |
| Line | Harlem Line |
| Operator | Metro-North Railroad |
| Incident type | Grade crossing collision |
| Cause | Obstruction of line |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | At least 650 |
| Deaths | 6 |
| Injured | 15 |
| Damage | 1 train car destroyed 1 train car damaged 1 automobile $3.7 million |
On the evening of February 3, 2015, a commuter train on Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line struck a passenger car at a grade crossing on Commerce Street near Valhalla, New York, United States. Six people were killed and 15 others injured, seven severely. It is the deadliest crash in Metro-North's history,[1] and was at the time the deadliest rail accident in the United States since the June 2009 Washington Metro train collision, which killed nine passengers and injured 80.[2][a]
The crash occurred following on the adjacent Taconic State Parkway. Traffic had been detoured onto local roads following a car accident that closed the parkway in one direction. An sport utility vehicle (SUV) driven by Ellen Brody of nearby Edgemont was waiting at the grade crossing. It was caught between the crossing's gates when they descended onto the rear of her car as the train approached from the south. Instead of backing into the space another driver had created for her, she went forward onto the tracks. Brody died when the train struck her vehicle and pushed it on the tracks. The collision damaged over 450 feet (140 m) of the third rail, which led to a fire and the deaths of five passengers.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) focused on two issues in the accident: how the train passengers were killed—since that rarely occurs in grade crossing collisions—and why Brody went forward into the train's path. The board's 2017 final report determined the driver of the SUV to be the cause of the accident, after finding no issues with the train engineer's performance or no defects with the vehicle, the crossing signals and associated traffic signal preemption. While it ruled out proposed explanations for Brody's behavior such as the placement of her car's gear shift lever, it could not offer any of its own. Despite the report's findings, lawsuits were filed against the town of Mount Pleasant, which maintains Commerce Street; Westchester County, the railroad; and the engineer. In 2024, a jury found the railroad and Brody liable for the accident.
- ^ Santora, Marc; Flegenheimer, Matt (February 4, 2015). "Investigation Underway in Metro-North Train Crash". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ Vantuono, William (June 12, 2018). "Grade crossing safety: The "Waze" of the future". Railway Age. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Flegenheimer, Matt; Pérez-Peña, Richard (May 14, 2015). "Brandon Bostian Agrees to Talk About Amtrak Derailment but May Recall Little". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
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