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Took two years, but NTSB has finally issued a report on the Metro-North Valhalla crash that left six dead. Blame for crash was assigned to the driver of SUV (Mrs. Ellen Brody)
"After much debate Tuesday morning, the NTSB approved a probable cause that points blame for the crash at 49-year-old Ellen Brody. The board said she drove onto the Metro-North Harlem Line tracks crossing Commerce Street in Mount Pleasant for “undetermined reasons,” despite warning signals telling her a train was oncoming.
The board said she was further distracted by a crossing arm hitting the back of her car, which she got out to investigate, decreasing the amount of time she had to get her car off the tracks."
If her husband gets any money from the MTA or the engineer (both of whom he is currently suing) for this lady's actions it'll be a travesty. The victim's estates should be suing the Brody estate for her actions.
Status:
"Let this year be over..."
(set 16 days ago)
Location: Where my bills arrive
19,220 posts, read 17,075,134 times
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It took 2 years to report what was obvious? It was known the driver failed to heed the train signals that were present. The husbands argument that she didn't know where she was and wasn't familiar or the crossing is poorly designed is ridicules. I would bet that most people regardless of where their from would recognize train crossing warnings
If her husband gets any money from the MTA or the engineer (both of whom he is currently suing) for this lady's actions it'll be a travesty. The victim's estates should be suing the Brody estate for her actions.
Terrible tragedy but only dumb lawyers sue shallow pockets.
Unlike most cars with a shifter on the tree, where you pull down for reverse and then pull down again for neutral and again for drive, for the Mercedes you push UP for reverse and down for drive.
Why I hate the counterintuitive shifters and will not permit anyone in my family to drive any.
In a moment of panic you do not have time to think about how to shift something that is counterintuitive or to look at a rotary shifter (Jaguar) or a panel of shifter buttons (Acura MDX).
It took 2 years to report what was obvious? It was known the driver failed to heed the train signals that were present. The husbands argument that she didn't know where she was and wasn't familiar or the crossing is poorly designed is ridicules. I would bet that most people regardless of where their from would recognize train crossing warnings
I've been bothered by this accident because I had a babysitter who lived in a neighborhood that was close to this exact crossing, and I used to drive through it several times a week. Before the bar came down, lights would flash and you heard a loud clanging noise. There was a lot of warning that would be (I thought) impossible to ignore. It's hard for me to fathom what was going through her mind. Ponytrekker's post about the gear shift on the Mercedes is interesting -- but she actually got out of the car and spent time trying to lift the bar off of it, taking extra time to do that. Very strange and sad.
We've made 6 cross country trips all by rail (Amtrak). You'd have to be completely deaf to not hear the blaring of air horns as a train was approaching well before the train even reaches the crossings. These trains are moving fast and don't exactly stop on a dime. Why people think they can beat a train is beyond me? Applying the train's air brakes at that speed is not an option. Trains are only supposed to gradually slow down before coming to a complete stop. Depending on the trains speed, length and weight that could take a mile or more. At 60 mph it will only take 15 seconds to travel a quarter of a mile (1320 ft.). That's almost the length of 4 football fields.
Is the repugnant Mr. Brody and his sleazebag lawyer going to finally go away, or will they keep trying to get those millions?
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