“This Crash Was Preventable”: Blumenthal on Metro-North

Flanked by New York lawmakers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal stood before the burned-out wreckage of the Metro-North train that slammed into an SUV in Valhalla, New York, earlier this week, calling on legislators to take measures so the deadly but "preventable" crash will never happen again.

"Having walked into that car that became a fiery death chamber, I was absolutely horrified," Blumenthal said during the news conference Friday. "To see the twisted chunks of metal, the blackened soot-stained cars and the seats that were twisted remains of what they were brought home to me what horror that car must have held for those innocent lives that were lost."

Five Metro-North passengers, including a Danbury resident, and the driver of the SUV died when the energized third rail split from the tracks and pierced the train, igniting a fireball that engulfed the first rail car.

“This accident is heartbreaking and gut wrenching and mind bending in how it could have occurred,” Blumenthal said. “And overwhelmingly what strikes me is this crash was preventable.”

Blumenthal said the fatal collision is one of more than 2,000 crashes that occur at rail grade crossings each year. According to the senator, 239 people were killed and more than 760 were hurt in such crashes last year.

“In a country that can put a man on the moon we can design better grade crossings that save lives and prevent this kind of crash. These grade crossings are literally accidents waiting to happen,” Blumental said.

He explained that much of the infrastructure still relies on technology from last century, harping on the need to implement signal controls that stop trains, warnings that deter cars and stronger penalties for drivers who go through crossings.

Blumenthal also turned his attention to driver education, suggesting that the SUV driver may have panicked when the crossing gates came down on her car.

“She probably never knew that the grade crossing arm would have yielded the car if she had backed rather than going forward,” he said. “That tragic mistake might have been prevented with better education.”

Contact Us