Metro-North Valhalla crash: 34 potential lawsuits on tap

Thirty-four potential plaintiffs have put Metro-North on notice of their intent to sue in connection with the train crash in Valhalla that killed six people, officials said.

Monday was the last day for people injured in the Feb. 3 crash to file a notice of claim, a document that essentially preserves their right to sue in the future for damages. The filings put Metro-North and other entities connected to the crash or grade crossing on notice about the potential for litigation.

Mount Pleasant received 27 notices of claim, town officials said. Its attorney will have to review and respond to each notice, town Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said. Each notice also will be forwarded to the town's insurance carrier for review. It's unknown how much the claims seek in total in damages.

"No matter what, there'll be a cost," Fulgenzi said. "It's a very unfortunate situation."

The crash, which ranks as the deadliest accident in Metro-North's history, occurred after a rush-hour passenger train collided with a sport utility vehicle at the Commerce Street grade crossing.

The family of Ellen Brody, the SUV driver and Edgemont mother of three who died in the collision, is among those who have filed a notice of claim, saying the Commerce Street crossing was badly designed and didn't offer Brody enough advance warning.

Brody was driving in stop-and-go traffic about 6:26 p.m. when the grade crossing gate came down on her SUV. After stepping out to inspect what had happened, she drove forward into the path of the oncoming northbound train, a witness said. The SUV caught fire and a dozen parts of the third rail, which runs parallel to the track, broke loose and pierced the vehicle and first two train cars.

Five passengers on the train were killed. The family of one of them, Eric Vandercar, had submitted documents in Surrogate Court also saying they intended to file a notice of claim, citing the roadway design and third rail as contributing factors in the crash.

At least some of the notices of claim are from people who were sitting in the second train car at the time of the collision, officials said. Further details were not immediately available.

Metro-North has said the crash caused $3.7 million in damage to its equipment.

The grade crossing had been the site of a prior fatal accident in 1984 when a van driven by cable service technician Gerard Dunne, 21, of Stony Point, also collided with a passenger train. Dunne died 18 days after the crash.