TRANSIT

Ellen Brody's husband sues Metro-North on crash anniversary

Thomas C. Zambito
tzambito@lohud.com
Alan Brody, the husband of Ellen Brody, the driver whose vehicle was struck by a Metro-North train in Valhalla in February, stands at the Commerce Street crossing Nov. 27. Ellen Brody's Mercedes SUV was struck at this crossing after she drove into the path of the oncoming train. Brody and five train passengers were killed. Alan Brody has taken up the issue of improving railroad crossing safety.
  • Lawyers claim Metro-North and the town of Mount Pleasant was aware of safety hazards at the crossing
  • Nearby crossings made the Commerce Street crossing "redundant and unnecessary," lawsuit claims
  • The state of New York should have shut down the crossing, lawyers say

The husband of an Edgemont woman killed when her car was broadsided by a northbound Metro-North train in Valhalla one year ago today, has filed a lawsuit accusing the commuter rail and town officials in Mount Pleasant of wrongful death and negligence.

Alan Brody filed the claim today in state Supreme Court in Westchester County, exactly one year to the day after his wife Ellen’s Mercedes SUV was struck by a Harlem Line train when she drove onto Metro-North tracks at the Commerce Street crossing.

Related: One year later, Ellen Brody is the legal focus of Valhalla train crash

Brody, 49, was killed along with five train passengers in the deadliest accident in Metro-North history.

Also named as defendants are Metro-North’s parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the train’s engineer, Steven Smalls.

Court Document: Brody claim against The State of New York

The lawsuit lists a number of reasons for the defendants’ alleged negligence.

Among them:

  • Officials failed to correct several safety hazards at the Commerce Street crossing, including a signal system that did not provide enough time for vehicles to clear the intersection.
  • Motorists’ view of trains coming from the south was obscured by a brick building beside the tracks.
  • A small amount of space at the intersection of Commerce Street and the Taconic State Parkway led to vehicles being “trapped” on Metro-North tracks.
  • Smalls did not sound the train’s horn in time and should have been going slower because of heavy traffic in the area caused by an accident on the Taconic.

The lawsuit says Mount Pleasant town officials should have petitioned the state Department of Transportation to close the crossing because of the small volume of vehicles that passed through every day. Two nearby crossings were enough to handle the area’s traffic flow, the lawsuit says.

Court Document: Brody full summons and complaint against Metro-North, Steven Smalls

“The hazardous Commerce Street crossing was redundant and unnecessary,” attorney Philip Russotti writes in the lawsuit.

Separately, Russotti filed a claim in the New York State Court of Claims, saying the state should have had the Department of Transportation close the crossing because it had become a safety hazard.

The families of several passengers who died have already filed lawsuits making similar claims. So far, none of those lawsuits names Brody as a defendant.