Jury finds Metro-North primarily responsible for 2015 fatal crash in Mount Pleasant that killed 6

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The civil case involving the deadliest crash in Metro-North's history took a major step forward on Tuesday just days after a jury began deliberations. The jury reached a verdict and found Metro-North was primarily responsible for the 2015 crash that killed six people including five passengers at the Commerce Street crossing in the Town of Mount Pleasant. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, on Feb. 3, 2015, Ellen Brody of Edgemont got caught between the safety gates at the crossing that indicated an oncoming train was nearby. Witnesses said she got out of her car and walked to the back of it before getting back inside and driving forward to try and cross instead of moving backward to clear the tracks. Seconds later an oncoming Metro-North commuter train full of passengers traveling from Grand Central Terminal along the Harlem Line slammed into Brody's car killing her. The impact lifted an electrified third rail which pierced the first car causing a massive fire that killed five passengers. The NTSB determined Brody caused the accident but also cited a design flaw in the third rail. The federal agency was never able to determine Brody's actions. According to attorneys, the jury determined Metro-North and the train's engineer Stephen Smalls were 71% responsible for the five passenger deaths due to issues with the third rail and the conductor's actions. Separately they found Metro-North 63% responsible for Brody's death because of safety failures. Brody's estate, led by her husband Alan, blamed Metro-North for having inadequate signage and failure to perform property safety assessments. "This should not have happened at every level, okay, so this is a wonderful person who was dragged into a terrible situation," he said. Ben Rubinowitz, the lead attorney representing the five victims and others who were injured, told News 12 in a statement: "At trial, despite Metro-North efforts to assign all the blame to the driver of the motor vehicle, who stopped her vehicle near the tracks, we were able to obtain a verdict in which the jury determined that Metro was the greatest cause of this tragedy. In its verdict the the jury found at Metro-North was negligent both in the train operators failure to slow down as well as the improper and negligent design of the third rail, which did not break away on impact as it was designed to do." Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson Aaron Donovan responded to the verdict in a statement: "The MTA disagrees with this verdict and is considering all legal options." Separate trials are expected to begin this fall to determine how much money will be awarded to Brody and the victim's estates. "