SUV inside train gates for about 30 seconds before NY crash

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By JIM FITZGERALD and JENNIFER PELTZ

VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP) — An SUV was in the danger zone inside railroad crossing gates for about half a minute before a suburban commuter train crashed into it, killing the driver and five train passengers, investigators' preliminary findings indicate.

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, traveling 58 mph in a 60 mph zone, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt said Thursday.

While investigators have yet to answer many questions about Tuesday's fiery crash, their early findings shed some light on the timeline.

"What we have here is: We have a mosaic," Sumwalt said. "We're going to take different pieces of information, pull it all together and then paint a picture of what's happened."

FULL story at link.



A train passes through the intersection where an SUV was struck by a Metro-North Railroad train in Valhalla, N.Y., Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. An investigation into what caused a fiery crash that killed a motorist and five rail riders is focusing on how a mother of three described by friends as safety conscious ended up between two crossing gates in her SUV as a commuter train barreled toward her. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150206/us--train-car_collision-774e04d104.html

[msongs]

1. suicide? nt

[GreatGazoo]

5. the driver beind her said she got out and looked at the back of her SUV

and he backed up and motioned for her to back up into the space he created. She got back in the SUV and went forward a little then was hit by the train.

As flashing warning lights began to go off 39 seconds before impact, the driver behind Brody backed up his vehicle and by motioning to her with his hands, he "attempted to communicate to her to back up," Sumwalt said.

Brody, 49, of Scarsdale, then got out of her SUV and walked to the gate and touched it, the witness told investigators.

Brody re-entered her vehicle and sat there "as if she had enough time to put on her seat belt."

As Brody "suddenly pulled forward," the train -- going 58 mph in a 60 mph zone, according to preliminary review of event recorder data -- struck.

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/harlem-line-service-resumes-as-ntsb-investigates-metro-north-fatal-crash-1.9906883

From that it seems like she was concerned that the gate had damaged her car but somehow not thinking that impact was imminent (?)

[Nihil]

19. Good job that Brody isn't a Middle Eastern name ...

> Brody's SUV slowly moved onto the tracks and was stopped when the gates lowered

> Brody, 49, of Scarsdale, then got out of her SUV and walked to the gate and touched it

> Brody re-entered her vehicle and sat there briefly.

How many seconds would it have taken Fox News and GOP politicians to start screaming
about a "Jihadi suicide attack on the infrastructure of this country" if her name would have
been "Eiliyah Al Bahardi" rather than "Ellen Brody"?

[leveymg]

27. More concerned with scratched paint than her own life (and others). Stupid, stupid.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

28. Or, information overload.

Too much was happening at one time for her to think through the situation clearly and perform the tasks according to their priority.

It happens to me often enough. I've not experienced such disastrous consequences though.

Just speculation.

[leveymg]

30. Meet you in the middle. Panic reaction, distraction or situational stupidity, or suicide.

She stopped on the tracks as the gates were coming down for no apparent reason.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

31. I can go with that.

She needed to stop and think. "First, I have to get off the tracks. Then I can worry about my car." She did not have that luxury, as, just then, the bells started clanging. I am quite familiar with that sound. They are loud. They mean "get off the tracks now. Do not enter the right of way. Make way. Quickly." The electric motors whir as the gates lower. Then there's an air horn to the south. You can see the headlight lighting up the scene.

The horn is getting louder, and it is sounding without a break.

There's no think to think. Act on instinct.

[Throckmorton]

45. No bells at this crossing, not that it matters.

Sorry about the nit-picking, because the rest your analysis is spot on.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

46. Thank you for the correction. I don't mind at all.

I still can't grasp that one's first thought, as the crossing gates come down on the back of one's car, is to get out to see if the paint has been scratched. The approaching headlight and the air horn getting louder all the time ought to cause one to think that there are bigger fish to fry.

Maybe my wondering is premature, and an investigation will show that the incident did not play out like that at all.

Are the M7 cars equipped with ditch lights? (ETA: from post #10, by happyslug, yes, they are.) Can they be set to an alternating mode?

Best wishes.

[sendero]

36. Sadly..

.... that is the most likely explanation IMHO. I think she just went into panic mode. Perhaps she intended to back up but hurriedly tossed the transmission into Drive accidentally.

We will never know.

I would never ever drive over a track without there being room on the other side. Her most important mistake was being on the track when the rails went down.

[LisaL]

44. From what the guy behind her said, her car was not on the tracks when she first stopped.

She drove onto the tracks right into the path of the train at the last second. She probably did panic, or thought she was going in reverse, because it's not making sense as to why she would drive right into the path of the train.

"Eyewitness Rick Hope, who was in the car directly behind Brody’s, told The Journal News the crossing gate came down on the rear of Brody’s SUV. He then saw Brody exit the vehicle, and after finding she could not move the gate off the car, she got back into the SUV and started to pull forward, he said. The train then hit the vehicle. Hope said that before Brody drove forward, her car was not on the tracks and that the train likely would have missed the SUV."

http://westfaironline.com/69092/ntsb-warning-lights-were-working-at-site-of-fatal-crash/

[Historic NY]

7. This isn't the first if your implying in the HV region...

its actually becoming a trend, sadly whether in a car or sitting on the tracks.

[msanthrope]

40. No--sounds more like a perfect storm of stupid/panic. nt

[happyslug]

2. The Article says "Third Rail" AND IT IS IN THIS LOCATION.

Last edited Thu Feb 5, 2015, 11:57 PM - Edit history (3)

This is the "Harlem Line" of Metro-North Railroad:

The Harlem Line has third rail from Grand Central Terminal to Southeast and trains are powered by diesel north to Wassaic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro-North_Railroad#East_of_Hudson_2

http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

Valhalla, the site of the Accident is near the Connecticut border (near where the border does a 90 degree turn). There are two small lakes between the Valhalla and the Connecticut border.

What gets me is this part of the line is Third Rail, but Third Rail is almost always used in areas where the rail line is isolated from anything that might touch the third rail. For example the New York Subway System is third rail, but NO ONE gets on the track except maintenance personnel. Third rail was liked for it could be used with DC power, when DC was all the rage (pre AC power being invented by Tesla). Third Rail has expanded since that time period, but as expansion of existing third rail systems (or systems that MUST tie in with a Third Rail System, like the one in Grand Central Station in NYC. Penn Station uses overhead wires.

Overhead wire can carry AC Currents at almost any voltage. Third Rail is limited in voltage to under 1000 Volts, and limited to speeds less than 100 mph (Overhead wires have no upper speed limit). Overhead wires can provide 25 KV (Kilovolts or 25,000 volts) of power.

http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/rolling-stock/traction-choices-overhead-ac-vs-third-rail-dc.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_electrification_system

My problem is one of the problem with Third Rail is the rail is ON the ground providing POWER, which can include power to anything that touches it (including having one foot on the third rail and the other foot on the ground). This was an AT GRADE intersection.

Now, I have read what happens in such intersections is the third rail STOPS while before the intersection and resumes the other side of the intersection. The distance between the two sections is less then the length of the train, so the train has power the entire time through the intersection (provided it have engines on every car, which is the norm in electrical railroads, through another way is two power cars on each end of the train and dummies, no power, in between).

http://www.railpage.com.au/f-p1431138.htm

Here is a photo of a third rail system and an intersection, the regular track goes through the intersection, the third rail on the rights starts/ends just before the intersection:



The above is for a meter gauge railroad in France, but is shows the break.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail

Now the third rail does NOT have to be on the side of the track, in Washington DC, in the days of Streetcars (pre 1963) do to a city ordinance passed in the 1880s that they be NO overhead wires in DC, The Streetcars had to use a third rail that was in the middle of their tracks. It was covered to make sure people did not elecute themselves:



http://www.jdland.com/dc/historic-photos.cfm



http://rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31767

Just a comment on why this was THIRD RAIL? It appears the third rail STOPPED and RESTARTED before and after the intersection and thus no Third Rail in the actual intersection. This line is Diesel further north but where the accident occurred it was Third Rail.

[LiberalElite]

4. How is it that the third rail

broke up and entered the passenger car in several places, one piece nearly hitting the train operator? This tragedy happened in Valhalla, which is 12 stops south of Southeast.

[happyslug]

10. I have no idea, but i can speculate

And I speculate that the train hit the SUV and pushed it up the tracks and right into where the third rail system re-started. I can see the SUV engine being enough Iron to bend the Third Rail into the train. Remember these are electric powered Coaches NOT an engine followed by passenger coaches.

The cars used on the "Harlem" line are M3s and M7s:

M3s:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1/M3_(railcar)#M3.2FM3A_series

M7s:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M7_(railcar)

This Accident involved the M7 series of cars:



http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31124170

If, what I Speculate is correct, I can see that 650 Volt Third Rail causing electric Arcs that set off fires. The damages where restricted to the first car. The Third Rail was set to pick up the train as the train exited the intersection, thus had power to it. Unless the rail was snapped, I see nothing stopping the electrical power in the rail to be shut off till someone shut it off manually (or it blew a fuse, something I doubt for it is expected to draw a lot of power to propel the coaches).

As I said this is pure speculation on my part. We have to see how the experts, who have access to the Rail Coach, determine how it caught on fire.

[leftynyc]

20. There was also an explosion

when the train hit the SUV. Could that have caused the third rail to penetrate the car? Being as I take the Metro North Harlem line every day (and have for 24 years) I'm watching this very closely.

[happyslug]

35. That can just be the gas tank going off.

The old joke is an half empty or less gas tank is more dangerous than a full one. The reason for this is a full tank, when it catches on fire quickly burns off the oxygen in the tank and dies from lack of Oxygen. In a half empty or less tank there is enough oxygen to burn and cause a massive expansion of the volume of "air" in the gas tank (i.e a huge explosion). Some of the gasoline MAY NOT have been burned but carried into the rail car by the explosion where it caught fire and causes additional fires in the rail car.

Thus the fire inside the rail car may be Gasoline caused NOT electrical caused. This is why this is pure speculation, thoughts that can help guide what is being investigated but just that thoughts.

When the A-Bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, one of a term of two Japanese Scientists on hearing of the blast speculated it was an Atomic Bomb. The other Scientist nodded a yes, and then neither one of them mentioned it again till two days later as they arrived at Hiroshima to examine the results of the bombing. By then the US had announced it had dropped an Atomic Bomb. The speculation tuned out to be correct, but they did not talk about it for two days for their had no evidence of it being an atomic bomb and until they had the evidence it was just speculation.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

24. "I see nothing stopping the electrical power in the rail to be shut off"

Last edited Tue Feb 10, 2015, 05:06 PM - Edit history (2)

Disclaimer: this is speculation. I am not familiar with that line. I'm sure that members of the Metro-North Yahoo! railfan group can talk about the technical details at length.

For overhead power lines, it is not uncommon for a tree or branch to sag into a distribution line conductor. When that happens, there is a spike in current due to the ground fault. A circuit breaker opens up. Because you can't have power go out every time this happens, the circuit breaker has an automatic reclosing feature. The recloser will restore power to the conductor. If the branch has burned off, then life goes on as normal. If the branch is still leaning into the conductor, the circuit breaker reopens. This goes on for about three times. At that point, the circuit breaker stops attempting to reclose the circuit, and a utility worker gets a phone call.

So maybe M-N has a reclosing feature on the third rail electrification. This would come in handy when kids dump a shopping cart on the third rail or a fox or squirrel causes a ground fault. The system automatically tries to restore power.

Again, I'm just guessing.

Great thread.

[GreatGazoo]

6. I believe trains which use different power sources share the same tracks

so one line might use diesel, not the electric third rail for power, but it is there for the ones that do.

All reports are clear that 400 feet of third rail went through the front car(s).

[RoccoR5955]

8. Many of those communter trains

that go north of where the third rail is use BOTH diesel and electric. I know that on that Hudson Line, that north of Croton, the trains are diesel, and having not to have to change trains at Croton, when traveling to Poughkeepsie, this has to be the case, because the trains are forbidden from running on diesel when within the Park Ave. tunnel that leads to Grand Central.
You can even see the trains re-fueling in the yards right near the Croton station.

[happyslug]

11. In Valhalla the service is Third Rail and this accident involved the M7 electric coaches.

Further north the line turns to Diesel, but not in Valhalla. From Wikipedia said, at "Southeast" you have to exit the Third Rail Coaches and take a diesel train further north,

[mahatmakanejeeves]

23. "The above is for a meter gauge railroad in France, but {it} shows the break."

I rode that line back in 1981. It reaches the highest point on the SNCF system. It even has a railroad suspension bridge. How many of those are there? It's really a hoot. It's my favorite rail line.

The Little Yellow Train - le Petit Train Jaune

The Little Yellow Train of the Pyrenees is one of the great railway journeys of the world – a historic metre-gauge electric railway in the French Pyrenees, opened in 1909, and still going strong. The line rises through dramatic scenery from an altitude of 427 metres at its lower terminus at Villefranche de Conflent, to a summit at Bolquère Eyne, France’s highest railway station, lying at an altitude of 1592 metres (5226 ft) above sea level. It then drops down to a high Pyrenean valley, to its terminus at Latour de Carol.

The DC streetcar tracks shown are in Georgetown, between Wisconsin Avenue and Georgetown University.

Thanks for the enlightening post.

[happyslug]

38. I was looking for a good photo of such a break in third rail and it was the best I could find

Now, I did NOT search long, if I searched longer I may even have found a photo of one of on this line, but I was in a hurry. I still have not found a photo of a break in circuit FOR LINE WHERE THIS ACCIDENT OCCURRED. One of the problems is, it is like a restroom, we all know where they are, we all use them, but we do NOT take photos of them (outhouses yes, but modern restrooms no unless there is a good reason to do so, and most restrooms are just dull for no one wants to go to a flashy restroom).

Thus I have looked for photos of a typical break in the third rail. From what I can tell on the Net, it may be faster for me to drive to New York, find an intersection, take the photo myself and then post it, as oppose to searching the net for such a photo.

As to that meter gauge railroad, it is an interesting route. One of the problems with Third Rail is snow and ice. Both can build up on the rail thus blocking the contact between the Third Rail and the Engine. Thus, while most third rails tend to be close to the ground, on the train in France the third rail is fairly high off the ground.

[LibertyLover]

3. I used to work with one of the victims

When Dr. Walter Liedke was an assistant curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was assistant to the Controller. I knew Walter and liked him very much. He was a kind person and a gentle soul who just wanted to understand Vermeer better and teach others to appreciate Vermeer's genius. Walter never spoke down to anyone and treated the janitorial staff with the same courtesy that he treated his curator. I am truly saddened for his family and friends and the art world as well.

[jwirr]

9. I don't know about NY but most of the railroads around here are cleared back quite aways. They

would have been able to see the train coming before they pulled onto the tracks. I would guess from this that she misjudged the distance and speed of the train and got stuck between the gates as they closed for the approach of the train. Very sad.

[LisaL]

12. The gates wouldn't block her in.

She could have backed up. The gate might have ended up broken, but obviously it's better than what happened.

[leftynyc]

21. The gates are made they way

they are so that breaking them would be easy for a car. I think she just freaked and went forward instead of backward. It's hard to get inside the mind of someone who had a train bearing down on them Especially one that's going almost 60 miles an hour.

[happyslug]

15. Actually the article says she STOPPED as the gates came down

I am NOT familiar with this gate, but MOST Gates are set up that if you are caught between the gates, you can continue for the gate on the other side does NOT block your lane. This is for safety reasons, if someone is between the gates, just get out of the way of the train.

The Article says the Driver entered the Intersection AS THE GATES CAME DOWN. The Gate on her side seems to have hit the back of her SUV. She then STOPPED HER CARS ON THE TRACKS, exited the car to look at the "Damage", re-entered her car and was then hit by the train. The gate came down 39 seconds BEFORE the train hit THIS intersection (There is extensive electrical devices on the train, so we know to the second when those gates came down and the train hit the intersection). The Train was going 58 mph (the speed limit on that track was 60 mph).

I hate to say this it sounds like the driver was at fault. For some reason, known only the driver, when she felt something hitting her car, she stopped her car and took a look at what ever hit her car instead of driving off the track. I suspect the driver had been taught to look at any such hit to her car immediately but never told NEVER stop in the middle of ANY INTERSECTION.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

26. "MOST Gates are set up that if you are caught between the gates,"

Last edited Tue Feb 24, 2015, 12:07 PM - Edit history (4)

I am NOT familiar with this gate, but MOST Gates are set up that if you are caught between the gates, you can continue for the gate on the other side does NOT block your lane. This is for safety reasons, if someone is between the gates, just get out of the way of the train.

I'm also replying to gvstn and LisaL.

You are right.

Here's the Federal Highway Administration Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook - Revised Second Edition August 2007. Its figures clearly illustrate your point.

For the most part, gates extend across only the approach side of a roadway. There are rare exceptions:

6. Four-Quadrant Gates

Four-quadrant gate systems consist of a series of automatic flashing light signals and gates in which the gates extend across both the approach and the departure side of roadway lanes. Unlike two-quadrant gate systems, four-quadrant gates provide additional visual constraints and inhibit nearly all traffic movements over the crossing after the gates have been lowered.

At this time, only a small number of four-quadrant gate systems have been installed in the United States, and they incorporate different types of designs to prevent vehicles from being trapped between the gates. In some installations, the exit gates are delayed to allow roadway vehicles to clear before the crossing is secured; other systems include vehicle presence detection to hold the exit gates up while vehicles are within the crossing zone.

Far more typical is a two-quadrant installation like this:



If a gate comes down, it blocks you from entering the right of way. It does not prevent you from proceeding forward and moving your vehicle off the right of way.

The gates are made of glass fiber, or fiberglass. They will break free or shatter if you look at them hard enough.

ETA, on Monday, February 9, 2015. Here is a picture of a four-quadrant gate system:



Date: 6/12/1955
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA

Photo by John Dziobko, Jr., at GodFatherRails, Photos added on 2/3/2015

[jwirr]

33. unfortunately that is what I think also.

[gvstn]

16. I think the gates only block one lane.

So if you went forward and a gate closed behind you (hitting her car as it did) she could still go forward and there would be no gate blocking your lane. The gates are not two lanes wide. So as you approach the track a gate of your lane width closes in front of you. Once you pass this gate and get onto the tracks the path in front of you is not blocked. You could floor it and get off the tracks with no obstacle in front of you. I don't think she was blocked but didn't have time to figure out what to do, whether to go forward or reverse or abandon her vehicle.

[LisaL]

17. The car can easily go through the gate anyway.

They are designed to be easily broken.

[yellowcanine]

29. Yep. Generally they will snap right off. It doesn't make any sense to just sit there.

Unless the car was actually stalled and would not start.

[LisaL]

43. The car wasn't stalled.

She actually drove it right into the path of the train, from what the guy behind her said.
Once the gate came down, it came down on top of her car. She then got out, she looked at the gate, she got back in and drove forward instead of backing up.
Right into the path of the train.

[gvstn]

13. I've looked at pictures of this crossing.

I can see this all happened. It is dark, she is going through the snow covered intersection, she gets hit by the railroad crossing bar and stops and gets out of the car trying to figure out the best thing to do. Decides to get back into the car and go forward to cause no further damage to the crossing bar and gets hit by the train.

In hindsight we can all say she should have reversed ignoring the damage to the crossing bar or proceeded forward but she could have been confused and scared. Terribly tragic but I am not going to blame her for not knowing to what to do in the 30 second window she had to figure out what was happening.

[LisaL]

14. Proceeding forward part is what apparently did her and the other people in.

I think if she stayed where she was it might have been fine, because it appears her car was not on the tracks when the crossing bar came on top of it.

[happyslug]

18. The enginneer said he saw the SUV pull into the intersection it was about 6:30 pm

It was about 6:30 pm (just after "Nautical Twilight&quot .

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Metro-North-Train-Hits-Car-Valhalla-New-York-Harlem-Line-290716911.html

Sunrise and sun set for Valhalla NY 2/5/2015:

Sunrise: 07:00:52
Sunset: 17:17:24
Transit: 12:09:08
Length of daytime: 10h 16m 32s

Twilight...........Begins...........Ends............Length
Civil..............06:32:10......17:46:07.....11h 13m 57s
Nautical.........05:59:28......18:18:48.....12h 19m 20s
Astronomical...05:27:19 .....18:50:57......13h 23m 38s

Civil Twilight: Evening civil twilight begins at sunset and ends when the geometric center of the sun reaches 6° below the horizon (civil dusk). Civil twilight can also be described as the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under clear weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under clear atmospheric conditions.

Nautical twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening, when the center of the sun is geometrically 12 degrees below the horizon. In general, nautical twilight ends when navigation via the horizon at sea is no longer possible.

During nautical twilight, sailors can take reliable star sightings of well-known stars, using a visible horizon for reference. The end of this period in the evening, or its beginning in the morning, is also the time at which traces of illumination near the sunset or sunrise point of the horizon are very difficult, if not impossible, to discern (this often being referred to as "first light" before civil dawn and "nightfall" after civil dusk). At the beginning of nautical twilight in the morning (nautical dawn), or at the end of nautical twilight in the evening (nautical dusk), and under good atmospheric conditions with the absence of other illumination, general outlines of ground objects may be distinguishable; but detailed outdoor operations are not possible, and the horizon is indistinct.

Astronomical twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 18 degrees below the horizon. From the end of astronomical twilight in the evening to the beginning of astronomical twilight in the morning, the sky (away from urban light pollution) is dark enough for all astronomical observations.
Most casual observers would consider the entire sky fully dark even when astronomical twilight is just beginning in the evening or just ending in the morning, and astronomers can easily make observations of point sources such as stars, but faint diffuse items such as nebulae and galaxies can be properly observed only beyond the limit of astronomical twilight. In some places, especially those with sky glow, astronomical twilight may be almost indistinguishable from night. Theoretically, the dimmest stars ever visible to the naked eye (those of the sixth magnitude) will become visible in the evening once the sun falls more than 18° below the horizon (i.e., at astronomical dusk), and become invisible when the sun moves to within 18° of the horizon in the morning (at astronomical dawn). However, because of light pollution, some localities, generally those in large cities, may never have the opportunity to view even fourth-magnitude stars, irrespective of the presence of any twilight at all.[1]
http://time.unitarium.com/sunrise/605

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight

[madokie]

25. She possibly could have thought she could continue on forward

but due to snow and ice she wasn't able to.

I remember one time years ago I had a vw sirocco and I had to stop in the middle of an icy and snowy intersection because I wasn't paying attention. anyway when I stopped the little car settled in some ruts in the ice and snow and there was no going forward or backwards. A couple guys who I was blocking jumped out of their cars and gave me a push that got me to rolling again and away I went. If that would have happened in the middle of a busy intersection I probably would have been run over and not been able to offer this tidbit of insight all these years later. just sayin'

[LisaL]

42. There was a witness right behind her.

She wasn't stuck on the tracks. She stopped because a gate came down on top of her car. She got out, she looked into the gate, she got back into the car and proceeded forward. Where the train hit her car.
So her car wasn't stuck on the tracks, or prevented by moving by ice or snow.

[Blue_Tires]

22. So she ignored the flashing lights and blaring alarm

and stopped her SUV right on the center of the tracks?? Are we sure this wasn't just an elaborate suicide?

[get the red out]

32. Maybe

she tried to commit suicide and chickened out at the last minute. That's my first thought.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

34. Another day, another incident.

Hat tip, Trainorders: Two dead when two CSX trains hit vehicle, Eaton TWP Oh

UPDATED: Two Lorain residents killed in train crash

Filed on February 5, 2015 by Evan Goodenow
329-7129
[e-mail]
@egoodenowct

EATON TWP. — Dan Draeger said he was shocked when the car in front of him drove through the railroad crossing at the intersection of Avon Belden Road (state Route 83) and Capel Road about 5:10 p.m. Thursday.

Draeger said driver Jawad Al-Nimer slowed down but went through the crossing despite the gates being down, lights flashing and a westbound train approaching. Draeger said he was about 100 yards behind the northbound, four-door, tan Chevrolet Malibu when it was struck.

“My first thought was, why is he trying to go around because I saw the train coming,” said Draeger, of Avon Lake. “The car went flying and spun around a few times.”

Al Nimer, 57, of 3915 Gary Ave., Lorain, and passenger Mufideh Al-Nimer, 78, of 2153 E. 29th St., Lorain, died at the scene, said fire Lt. Kevin Blair. The crash remains under investigation, said Lt. Travis Hughes, Ohio Highway Patrol Elyria post commander. ... Draeger said Al-Nimer swerved left just before the westbound CSX train struck the Malibu. It was then struck by an eastbound train, Hughes said.



An Eaton Township firefighter looks over the wreckage of a car involved in a collision with a train on Route 83 near Capel Road. BRUCE BISHOP/CHRONICLE

[RobinA]

37. For Two Years

I took a train to work and our station was right at a crossing. For two years I stood there day in and day out and watched the death-cheating antics of people, in cars and on foot, at the crossing. I was amazed. And scared that eventually I would have a front row seat at a tragedy. Thankfully, I never did. I'm not referring to this poor woman, as she obviously had something else going on.

For people like this lady, I think it depends in part on how much situational awareness each person is carrying around with them as they go about their business. I know people who probably don't even know they are at a crossing until the gate hits their car. If it never does, they never even know they crossed a railroad. Me? I don't enter any crossing if I don't have a clear shot all the way through the right of way. I've seen people stop in traffic on tracks. I can't fathom that. Me? I got no problem busting through a down gate if I have to, and I've thought it out ahead of time. And if steel clamps rise up from the tracks and grab my car to the pavement? I'm in the next county before the engineer even hits the horn. That's my awareness at a crossing. Now in some other situation, I'm probably as clueless as this lady might have been. Depends on the person and their experience.

[Quantess]

39. My guess: Driver stopped to look at his/her phone.

To read a text message, look at facebook, etc.

[LisaL]

41. She stopped because a gate came down on top of her car.

She got out, looked at the gate, then got back in and drove into the path of the train.

[Blue_Tires]

47. Why the hell did she ignore the signal lights?

and why didn't she just drive through the gate??

Something doesn't add up here...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

48. NTSB Preliminary Report: Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Collision

Hat tip, Trainorders: Prelim report: Valhalla incident on Metro North

Preliminary Report: Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Collision

Executive Summary

The information in this report is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation

On February 3, 2015, at 6:26 pm eastern standard time, northbound Metro-North Railroad passenger train no. 659 struck a 2011 Mercedes Benz ML350 sports utility vehicle (SUV) at the Commerce Street highway rail grade crossing, DOT ID 529902V, at milepost 26.6 on the Metro-North Railroad Harlem line in Valhalla, New York. An estimated 650 passengers were aboard the train at the time of the accident of which an estimated 20 passengers were in the lead car. The driver of the SUV and five passengers on the train were killed.



Figure 1. Train and SUV at point of rest following collision.

This highway-rail grade crossing was comprised of gates and warning lights that activate to warn motorists of an oncoming train. Train no. 659 consisted of eight electrically powered M-7 railcars. The collision resulted in a fire which consumed the SUV and lead railcar, MN 4333.

The SUV was stopped on the railroad tracks in the highway-rail grade crossing and was positioned in an easterly direction when the railroad crossing gates moved to the closed position. Witnesses reported the driver of the SUV as being stopped in the crossing prior to the gates lowering. When the gate lowered it struck the rear portion of the SUV after which the driver exited the SUV, looked at the back of the SUV, then got back in the SUV, drove forward (east), and was struck by the train.

The track speed in the area of the accident was 60 mph. Based on the NTSB’s preliminary review of the train’s event recorder data, the train was travelling at 58 mph prior to emergency braking and the horn was operated in accordance with operating rules on the approach to the crossing. The recorder indicated that the engineer activated the emergency brakes about 300 feet before the collision after observing what he characterized as, “a vehicle partially fouling the crossing”. Event recorder data indicated that in the 4 seconds after initiation of emergency braking the train slowed to 49 mph at which time it impacted the SUV.