Wife Was 'Innocent Victim' in Train Crash: Alan Brody

by ALFRED BRANCH (Patch Staff)

Alan Brody, the husband of the SUV driver whose vehicle caused the deadly Metro-North train crash in Valhalla, told The Journal News that the MTA, not his deceased wife Ellen Brody, is the “villain” in the tragedy that took six lives.

Brody’s SUV was struck by the train at a grade-level crossing, killing her and five passengers on the train. Several more were injured.

Her daughters gave an emotional interview to Matt Lauer on the Today Show in late March, also defending Ellen Brody in the accident, and now Alan Brody echoes those sentiments.

“I can see why people, equally unfamiliar with the scene and stunned by the devastation, would look for a villain,” Brody told The Journal News. “But Ellen was the truly innocent victim. The villain is the authority that abrogated its duty to maintain a safe and properly signed crossing.”

Witnesses told authorities that they saw the crossing’s gate come down on the SUV and Brody exit the vehicle before getting back in and moving it forward into the train’s path.

Brody and his daughters are suing the railroad for not making the crossing safer, a failure which caused the crash.

Lawsuits against the railroad over safety issues have been very costly for the MTA in recent years, as settlements have reached $38 million and continue to climb.

“I know exactly what’s wrong with this,” Brody told The Journal News. “But not just that, I know exactly how to fix it. And I know the people who can do it and they’re not politicians, and they don’t work for the MTA. They are the innovators and the billionaires of America, and that’s who owns the future, not these clowns.”

Click here to read the full story on The Journal News website.

PHOTO: Ellen Brody