Current:Home > ScamsJury faults NY railroad -- mostly -- for 2015 crossing crash that killed 6-LoTradeCoin
Jury faults NY railroad -- mostly -- for 2015 crossing crash that killed 6
View Date:2024-12-23 23:44:32
A commuter railroad is mostly at fault for a fiery and deadly 2015 collision between a train and an SUV at a suburban New York crossing, a jury has found in a verdict that lays out how the bill for any damages will be split.
The verdict, reached Tuesday, held that the Metro-North Railroad bore 71% of the liability for five passengers’ deaths and the injuries of others, and 63% for the death of the SUV driver whose car was on the tracks. The jury faulted train engineer Steven Smalls, a Metro-North employee, and the railroad’s oversight of the line’s electrified third rail.
The jury in White Plains, New York, also found SUV driver Ellen Brody 37% at fault for her own death and 29% for the passengers’ deaths and injuries.
Any damages will be determined at a future trial. No date has been set as yet.
Ben Rubinowitz, a lawyer for the injured passengers, said Thursday they were very pleased with the verdict.
“Hopefully, Metro-North will really manage passengers’ safety better from now on,” he said.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the railroad, disagrees with the verdict and is “considering all legal options,” spokesperson Aaron Donovan said.
A lawyer for Brody’s family said he was pleased that the jury agreed that the railroad and engineer were negligent. But he was disappointed at how much blame was apportioned to her.
“When you get into the facts of the case, she really didn’t do anything wrong,” attorney Philip Russotti said.
Messages seeking comment were sent to attorneys for the engineer and others in the complicated case.
A Metro-North train crashed into Brody’s SUV during the evening rush hour on Feb. 3, 2015, at a grade crossing in Valhalla. It’s about 20 miles (32 km) north of New York City.
Brody, a jewelry store employee headed to a business meeting, had driven onto the tracks while navigating backed-up traffic in the dark in an unfamiliar area.
When the crossing gate arm came down onto her SUV, she got out, took a look at the car, got back in and drove further onto the tracks.
The train engineer hit the emergency brake three seconds before the collision, but the train smashed into Brody’s SUV at about 50 mph (80 kph) and pushed it down the track.
A chunk of the railroad’s electrified third rail was ripped off the ground, pierced the SUV’s gas tank and sliced into the train’s first passenger car, carrying flaming debris.
“It was like a spear that was on fire,” Rubinowitz said.
The National Transportation Safety Board found that the design of the power-providing third rail played a role in the deaths and injuries. The board said there was a potential safety problem in the railroad’s lack of a “controlled failure” mechanism that would split up third rails in such situations.
The NTSB concluded that Brody’s actions were the probable cause of the wreck. But her family and attorney maintain that she was thrust into danger by inadequate warning signs, a badly designed crossing, a traffic light that left too little time for cars to clear the tracks ahead of oncoming trains, and the engineer’s failure to slow down as soon as he spotted the reflection of something dark on the tracks ahead.
“All she needed was two or three more seconds” to get across the tracks, Russotti said by phone Thursday.
The injured passengers’ lawyer argued the engineer bore more responsibility than Brody did.
“We kept it very simple: He had the obligation to slow down,” Rubinowitz said by phone.
Smalls, the engineer, testified at the trial that he didn’t know what the reflection was, according to LoHud.com. He told jurors he blew the horn, instead of immediately pulling the brake, for fear that an abrupt halt might hurt passengers.
“I have to relive this every day of my life,” said Smalls, who was injured in the crash. He settled with Metro-North for $1 million in 2019, according to LoHud.com.
veryGood! (9192)
Related
- J.Crew Outlet Quietly Drops Their Black Friday Deals - Save Up to 70% off Everything, Styles Start at $12
- Taco John's trademarked 'Taco Tuesday' in 1989. Now Taco Bell is fighting it
- Inside Clean Energy: Recycling Solar Panels Is a Big Challenge, but Here’s Some Recent Progress
- Federal inquiry details abuses of power by Trump's CEO over Voice of America
- FBI offers up to $25,000 reward for information about suspect behind Northwest ballot box fires
- Why RHOA's Phaedra Parks Gave Son Ayden $150,000 for His 13th Birthday
- Why Won’t the Environmental Protection Agency Fine New Mexico’s Greenhouse Gas Leakers?
- In a Bid to Save Its Coal Industry, Wyoming Has Become a Test Case for Carbon Capture, but Utilities are Balking at the Pricetag
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chancellor to step down at end of academic year
- Olivia Culpo Shares Glimpse Inside Her and Fiancé Christian McCaffrey's Engagement Party
Ranking
- IAT Community Introduce
- A Tennessee company is refusing a U.S. request to recall 67 million air bag inflators
- Biden’s Been in Office for More Than 500 Days. He Still Hasn’t Appointed a Top Official to Oversee Coal Mine Reclamation
- 1000-Lb. Sisters' Tammy Slaton Shares Tearful Update After Husband Caleb Willingham's Death
- Chipotle unveils cilantro-scented soap, 'water' cup candles in humorous holiday gift line
- Too Hot to Work, Too Hot to Play
- In Georgia, Bloated Costs Take Over a Nuclear Power Plant and a Fight Looms Over Who Pays
- Weak GOP Performance in Midterms Blunts Possible Attacks on Biden Climate Agenda, Observers Say
Recommendation
-
Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
-
Out in the Fields, Contemplating Humanity and a Parched Almond Farm
-
Why Jennifer Lopez Is Defending Her New Alcohol Brand
-
Parties at COP27 Add Loss and Damage to the Agenda, But Won’t Discuss Which Countries Are Responsible or Who Should Pay
-
New wildfires burn in US Northeast while bigger blazes rage out West
-
Meghan Trainor Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 2 With Daryl Sabara
-
At COP27, the US Said It Will Lead Efforts to Halt Deforestation. But at Home, the Biden Administration Is Considering Massive Old Growth Logging Projects
-
Max streaming service says it will restore writer and director credits after outcry