UPDATE: Federal Investigators Begin Probe, Victims Identified

Update 12:30 a.m. Thursday

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced just before midnight that Metro-North will resume train service on the Harlem Line Thursday morning for the first time since Tuesday night’s collision between a passenger train and a SUV near Valhalla Station, according to a press statement from his office.

Metro-North customers should expect delays as trains will have to slow down as they pass through the work zone at the site of the accident.

The first train to operate over the crossing will be the 4:26 a.m. departure from Southeast, which is due into Grand Central at 5:30 a.m.

Governor Cuomo said in his statement: “The MTA is working non-stop through the night to rebuild the damaged section of track and restore service in time for the morning commute. I want to thank everyone for their tireless efforts in the wake of this devastating accident. My thoughts and prayers remain with the family and friends of the victims of Tuesday night’s tragedy during this painful time.”

The accident had forced Metro-North to suspend service between Pleasantville and North White Plains relying on buses to successfully bridge the gap for thousands of customers while investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted the initial on-site component of their investigation.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the NTSB gave Metro-North permission to clear the wreckage from the crash site and workers using a high-rail crane removed the damaged automobile at about 5:30 PM. A locomotive was then attached to the south end of the disabled M-7 train and the eight-car train was towed to the Metro-North yard in North White Plains.

Workers from Metro-North’s Power, Track and Signal Departments then began the task of rebuilding some 500 feet of electrified third rail. Workers also had to repair damaged circuits, inspect the running rail and test signals damaged in the accident and subsequent fire.

Commerce Street will remain closed to vehicular traffic until the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation, which is expected to occur mid-afternoon Thursday.

UPDATE 9:30PM

The identities of the last three victims killed in last night’s explosive commuter-train collision have been released by Westchester County officials.

According to news reports, they are Joseph Nadol, 42, of Ossining; Chappaqua resident Robert Dirks, 36; and Tomar Aditya, 41, of Danbury. The three victims identified earlier today: Bedford residents Walter Liedtke and Eric Vandercar and Edgemont resident Ellen Brody, the driver.

“Last night I stated that we were very saddened by the Metro-North accident,” said New Castle Town Supervisor Rob Greenstein. “I expressed hope that everyone got home safely. Three members of our community did not. On behalf of the Town of New Castle, we want to express our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of Joseph Nadol of Ossining, Robert Dirks of Chappaqua and Ellen Brody, who worked at a local jewelry store. Our hearts are broken by this tragic accident! Counseling services are being provided at Phelps Memorial Hospital, 755 North Broadway, Suite 250, Sleepy Hollow, NY (914) 366-3600.”

New York Transportation Department officials also announced that the southbound Taconic Parkway, closed since the 6:30 p.m. grade-crossing crash, has reopened.

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One thing investigators probing last night’s deadly Metro North crash now know: about 400 feet of the electrified third rail sliced into both the Mercedes and the packed commuter train at impact.

“At the point of the collision the SUV was pushed about 1,000 feet down the tracks,” said National Traffic Safety Board member Robert Suwalt during a briefing this afternoon. “During that time the electrified rail, the third rail, penetrated the chassis of the automobile behind and below the driver’s seat.”

It came out at an angle, hitting the train just in front of the first set of wheels, which further leveraged it up, in 80-foot sections that piled up in the first rail car. At least one piece penetrated into the second rail car.

One thing investigators want to know, he said, is if the power shut off to the third rail as it broke up—as it is supposed to.

In fact, there are many things they want to know:

• the crashworthiness of the rail cars
• the train car’s emergency exits
• does the grade crossing meet federal requirements
• the condition of the third rail
• the mechanical condition of the train at the time of the crash
• the condition of the gates and signals
• details of the emergency response
• the role of an accident earlier that afternoon on the nearby highway
• why the Mercedes SUV was stopped in the crossing

That is why formal conclusions about the crash won’t be determined in hours, days or even weeks.

“We are here to collect the perishable evidence, the information that can go away with the passage of time,” Suwalt said. “We’re not here to speculate...we believe grade-crossing accidents can be prevented and that’s why we’re here, not fingerpointing.”

Five train passengers and the driver of the SUV died in the explosion and fire at 6:30 p.m. Feb 3 on the Harlem Line. Three have been named by their communities and the news meda: Bedford residents Walter Liedtke and Eric Vandercar and Edgemont resident Ellen Brody, the driver.

Injured passengers at Westchester Medical Center include, as of this afternoon, one patient in critical condition, one in serious condition, four in fair and two in good condition. Four were discharged overnight.

The Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office is still working to formally identify the bodies, which were burned beyond recognition.

Now working at the crash site in Mount Pleasant is a multi-disciplinary team including specialists in rail safety, highway safety and engineering, surveying the scene and obtaining detailed measurements of the wreckage area and downloading some of the equipment recorders. Another recorder has been sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C.

The team expects to be in New York for five to seven days, before its members will go back to study the data they collect through observation, interviews and analysis.

HARLEM LINE TRAGEDY:

• Bedford Resident Eric Vandercar Among Victims
• Harlem Line Tragedy: Engineer Credited With Saving Lives
• Bedford Hills Resident Walter Liedtke Among Victims in Metro North Tragedy
• Edgemont Resident Ellen Brody Among Victims in Metro North Tragedy
• Update: Last Three Victims ID’d in Deadly Feb. 3 Crash
• Chaos, Sadness and Prayers: A Commuter’s Train Ride When Tragedy Struck
• Metro-North Harlem Line Tragedy: Timeline; Feds Collecting Evidence
• What You Need to Know if You Take Metro-North
• On Twitter: News and Reaction to the Harlem Line Tragedy
• Tough Weather Conditions for Train Accident Investigation

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UPDATE 5:30PM Feb. 4

Walter Liedtke, 69, a curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan has been identified as the third victim in the Metro North crash, various media outlets confirmed. A resident of Bedford Hills, he is survived by his wife Nancy.
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Two of the six people who died when a crowded commuter train plowed into an SUV on the Harlem Line tracks in Mount Pleasant, NY have been identified.

According to reports on social media, Eric Vandercar, 53, of Bedford Hills, was a passenger on Metro North’s 5:45 p.m. express from Grand Central. The driver of the car was named by The Journal News as Ellen Brody, an Edgemont resident heading home from work in Chappaqua.

Preliminary information suggests Brody was caught inside as the gates lowered. An eyewitness said she got out and jiggled the gate that had come down on the back of her SUV, then got back in. As the driver behind her backed up to give her room, she instead drove forward, right into the path of the oncoming train.

With the National Transportation Safety Board now on the scene, investigation into last night’s crash has begun in earnest.

“Our goal is to not only find out what happened but why it happened, so we can issue safety recommendations to try to keep it from happening again,” said Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB board member.

At an 11:10 a.m. press briefing, Sumwalt said the NTSB had just officially taken over the accident scene, and investigators had started looking at the first car, which burst into flames when the collision occurred. The electrified third rail broke and sliced upward through the car.

Westchester Medical Center declared a mass casualty incident at 6:47 p.m. and then specifically activated trauma surgeons, physicians and nurses, said Dr. Ivan Miller.

“I could see the helicopters as I pulled into the hospital entrance,” Miller said. “It’s literally just a couple miles away.”

Patricia Wrobbel, chief nursing executive at the medical center, said this afternoon that one patient remains in critical condition, one in serious condition, four in fair and two in good condition. Four were discharged overnight.

Metro North has released plans for the evening commute. Northbound, the Harlem Line will operate up to North White Plains. Passengers can then board a shuttle bus to Pleasantville and reboard a train to all stops on the Upper Harlem Line. No service at the Valhalla and Hawthorne stations, which bracket the accident site.

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UPDATE 1:41PM Feb. 4

More than 100 staff members were activated at Westchester Medical Center to deal with the casualties from the Metro North crash at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3 when a northbound commuter train smashed into an SUV that had pulled across the Harlem Line tracks in Mount Pleasant.

Sending out pages and messages, the hospital declared a mass casualty incident at 6:47 p.m. and then specifically activated trauma surgeons, physicians and nurses, said Dr. Ivan Miller.

“I could see the helicopters as I pulled into the hospital entrance,” Miller said. “It’s literally just a couple miles away.”

Twelve victims were brought to the Hawthorne facility. Based on information from emergency medical personnel at the scene, doctors designated five of the victims Level 1 and as the first nine arrived at 7:20 p.m. did triage to determine which resources needed to go to which patients and in what order.

“As the regional trauma center and the regional burn center our mission is to be prepared for this sort of thing,” Miller said, describing the pre-planning and the steps taken last night—when they didn’t know if they should expect a few or hundreds of victims. Miller said given a commuter train at 6:40 p.m., there could have been many more people hurt.

Support staff including chaplains and bereavement specialists were and still are at the hospital and at the scene, said Patricia Wrobbel, the medical center’s chief nursing executive. “We were providing support to the families of the patients here and others who were looking for their loved ones throughout the evening.”

Dr. Joseph Turkowski, director of the WMC’s burn center, said the injuries ranged from flame burns to lacerations, contusions, open breaks, dislocations and smoke inhalation.

“The silver lining is the injuries weren’t as serious as they could be...we are thankful for that,” he said.

Wrobbel said one patient remains in critical condition, one in serious condition, four in fair and two in good condition.

“We were able to have four patients discharged throughout the night time,” she said.

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UPDATE 11:20AM Feb. 4

With the National Transportation Safety Board now on the scene, investigation into last night’s deadly train crash in Mount Pleasant has begun in earnest.

“Our goal is to not only find out what happened but why it happened, so we can issue safety recommendations to try to keep it from happening again,” said Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB board member, told FIOS1 News early this morning.

At an 11:10 a.m. press briefing, Sumwalt said the NTSB had just officially taken over the accident scene, and investigators had started looking at the first car, which burst into flames at 6:30 p.m. when the packed commuter train collided with a car that had driven onto the Harlem Line just north of Valhalla.

Investigators should have some concrete information by this afternoon; if so, the NTSB will hold another press briefing, he said.

SEE ALSO:

• At Least 6 Dead, 7 Injured in Valhalla Train Crash
• What You Need to Know if You Take Metro North
• Metro-North Harlem Line Tragedy: Timeline; Feds Collecting Evidence
• On Twitter: News and Reaction to the Harlem Line Tragedy
• Tough Weather Conditions for Train Accident Investigation

Sumwalt said a request has already been made for high-definition aerial footage. Investigators have started methodically documenting everything at the scene, including using a laser scan.

“We will be on the scene 5-7 days collecting what I call perishable evidence, which could disappear with time,” he said.

Meanwhile, the train will be moved—possibly this afternoon— into a storage facility, where its examination will continue.

Investigators also want to start interviewing witnesses while their memories are freshest.

Any witness who wishes to talk to the NTSB should email witness@ntsb.gov

Information from the train, gate and signal records has already been secured, he said. From the train’s recorder, speed, any whistle indications, brake applications, horn sounding will be on record.

“In addition to the train recorders there are recorders at the crossing, he said—”The gates have signals. the signals themselves have event recorders. We will be looking at that today.”

Talking to press at the scene at 8:30 a.m., Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said he believes train officials and investigators must also look at the big picture—at-grade crossings on the heavily-traveled commuter railroad.

“All the crossings, all the signals,” he said. “But first and foremost we’re all just very saddened about the deaths. We’re praying for their families and trying to give them everything they need. Second, the train service needs to be restored. But the investigation can’t be compromised.”

Astorino said preliminary information that he’s heard suggests that there was nothing wrong with the train. However, “We must wait for the NTSB investigation to determine whether there was signal failure or something wrong with the track, something other than driver error.”

Both the conductor and the engineer escaped.

Astorino said the engineer did what he could do to save people before the first car was fully engulfed. ”When you can’t see and you can’t breathe and there are flames you have to get out, that’s what he had to do,” he said.

The Westchester County Medical Examiner is working with dental and other records to identify the victims. ”The bodies are all very badly burned and unidentifiable,” Astorino said.

“There will be a full investigation into this heartbreaking incident and over the next few days we will find out exactly what happened,” said State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “Now is the time for all us to support those so deeply affected by this tragedy.”

IMAGE: @nycjim/Twitter

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