Funeral for woman driving SUV in New York commuter train collision in which 5 others also died

VALHALLA, N.Y. – Mourners of a woman who was driving the SUV that was hit by a suburban commuter train are making their final goodbyes.

Ellen Brody’s service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday in Dobbs Ferry. The 49-year-old mother of three was killed along with five rail passengers on Tuesday night, when a commuter train crashed into her vehicle on the tracks at a railroad crossing in the Westchester County town of Valhalla.

Her family issued a statement Thursday saying they are devastated over losing Brody. “She was a warm, vivacious and dynamic presence in our lives, and the most loving and nurturing mother, wife, daughter and sister,” the statement said.

According to investigators’ preliminary findings, Brody’s car was in the danger zone inside railroad crossing gates for about half a minute before the train hit.

Brody got ahead of the crossing gate in inching traffic, then got out of her car to examine it after the gate came down and hit the back of it, a witness has said. But then she got back in, seeming unhurried, and advanced onto the track, the witness told news outlets and investigators.

The train’s engineer also told investigators that he saw the car moving onto the tracks.

Data recorders also show the Metro-North Railroad train’s engineer hit the emergency brakes and sounded the horn as the train bore down on the Valhalla crossing, travelling 58 mph in a 60 mph zone, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Thursday.

Flashing warning lights at the crossing illuminated 39 seconds before the crash, and the gates came down a few seconds later, Sumwalt said. That would leave about 30 seconds that the SUV was inside the gates.

Investigators haven’t found any problems with the warning signals or the nearby traffic lights, which are synched to let drivers clear the crossing when a train is coming, Sumwalt said. The crossing also had painted warnings on its pavement, and a sign 65 feet from the rail warns drivers not to stop on the tracks, he noted.

The agency hasn’t mapped out how far before the crossing the engineer hit the emergency brakes on the train, which takes about 950 feet and 30 seconds to stop, Sumwalt said.

After the impact, flames enveloped the SUV and part of the train, and the electrified third rail pierced them. Hundreds of passengers scrambled through spreading smoke and fear, some helping each other to escape despite their own injuries.

Trains hit cars on the tracks many times a year, but such crashes rarely kill train riders. Investigators have emphasized that they want to figure out why this one did, becoming the deadliest accident in the 32-year history of one of the nation’s busiest commuter railroads.

Investigators are looking for any elements that may have intensified the fire, which they believe was ignited by the SUV’s gas tank. The NTSB has been examining such factors as the adequacy of emergency exits, the crashworthiness of the train cars and the unusual design of the Metro-North line’s third rail.

The agency also is looking into how familiar Brody was with her car and her route, whether she was using a cellphone and whether the backed-up traffic played a role.