Metro-North primarily responsible for fiery 2015 Valhalla crash that killed 6, jury finds

A Westchester County jury on Tuesday found Metro-North primarily liable for a fiery 2015 collision that resulted in the deaths of five passengers, bringing a civil case that had dragged on for nearly 10 years to its final stages. The amount of damages, if any, to be awarded to the passengers will be determined at another trial.

The February 2015 crash at the Commerce Street crossing in Valhalla remains the deadliest in Metro-North's history. The passengers were killed when Metro-North train 659 collided with a Mercedes SUV that had driven onto the tracks.

The driver of the SUV, Ellen Brody, was also killed. The passengers killed were Walter Liedtke, 69, and Eric Vandercar, 53, both of Bedford Hills; Aditya Tomar, 41, of Danbury, Conn., Robert Dirks, 36, of Chappaqua and Joseph Nadol, 42 of Ossining.

During the collision, the third rail of the train tracks became uprooted and pierced the first car on the train, setting it ablaze due to the rail's intense electrification.

The Metro-North trial verdict

The jury of six labored over two days before reaching its verdict, repeatedly requesting notes from the trial and additional evidence, indicating they were focused on the conduct of Steven Smalls, the train's operator that evening. The jury seemed to scrutinize his failure to slow the train down once he saw a vague reflection on the tracks, just before the catastrophic collision.

The jury assigned 71% of the blame for the deaths and injuries of the train passengers to Metro-North itself, for its design of the third rail system, and to Smalls, for his operation of the train.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the Metro-North railroad, disputed the jury's verdict in a statement to The Journal News/lohud.

"The MTA disagrees with this verdict and is considering all legal options," said Aaron Donovan.

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Smalls did not have an immediately visible reaction as the jury read its verdict, which held him partially liable for the crash. He did not answer inquiries as he quickly exited the courtroom.

During the trial, Metro-North sought to blame Brody for causing a dangerous situation by inadvertently driving onto the tracks, forcing Smalls to make an impossible split-second decision.

Brody had apparently stopped her car at the edge of the crossing just as the safety gate was closing down, which served as warning of an impending train. But at the last second, Brody attempted to finish clearing the crossing, causing train 659 to collide into the right side of her vehicle and push it down the tracks.

The jury assigned Brody 29% of the blame for causing the deaths and injuries of the Metro-North passengers.

Brody's estate had also sued Metro-North, blaming the railroad's negligence for causing her death. The jury largely agreed with this assessment, ruling that Metro-North's failure to maintain adequate signage, failure to perform an adequate safety assessment of the Commerce Street crossing and failure to analyze safety gate malfunction reports all contributed to Brody's death.

In doing so, the jury assigned Metro-North and Smalls 63% of the blame for her death, specifically. The jury assigned Brody 37% of the blame for causing her own death.

Reflecting on the verdict, Alan Brody, Ellen Brody's husband, said he was glad Metro-North "was delivered a message that they need to completely change their act."

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Attorneys react to jury's decision in Metro-North trial

After the verdict was read, Ronald Joseph, an attorney representing Metro-North, indicated he would seek to set aside the jury's verdict and, perhaps, request a new trial.

In a brief interview, Ben Rubinowitz, the lead attorney representing the injured passengers and the families of the passengers who were killed, said he hopes the verdict will cause Metro-North to "make the changes that need to come about to protect the safety, health and well-being of all passengers on their trains."

"This is a tragedy, something that never, ever should have happened," he said. "For the jurors to actually sit through seven weeks of trial — to listen to what Metro-North did and what they didn't do that they should have done — and come up with the right verdict was terribly important to our clients. Their lives have been turned upside-down by this, and it's something from which they will never get over."

Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can send him an email at astockler@lohud.com. Reach him securely: asher.stockler@protonmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Metro-North found mostly at fault in deadly 2015 Valhalla crash