NTSB investigating fatal NY Metro-North crash

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a fatal accident on the New York Metro-North commuter railway that killed seven people on Tuesday night.

The accident investigation agency said it is sending personnel to the scene of a collision between a train on Metro-North’s Harlem Line and a car in Valhalla, N.Y., north of New York City. 

The train had left New York’s Grand Central during Monday’s evening rush hour, when it crashed into an SVU that was stopped on the tracks. The accident resulted in the death of five people on board the train, including the operator, as well as the driver of the car.

{mosads}The NTSB said it was sending a “go-team” to the scene of the deadly crash and would begin providing updates on its initial findings by Wednesday morning. 

“Rail investigator Michael Hiller is leading the team as investigator-in-charge,” the agency said. “NTSB Board Member Robert L. Sumwalt is accompanying the team and will serve as the principal spokesman during the on-scene phase of the investigation.” 

Lawmakers who represent parts of New York that rely on Metro-North expressed concern about Tuesday’s deadly accident, which follows a series of Metro-North incidents in 2013 that prompted multiple congressional reviews. 

“I’m heartbroken, #MetroNorth riders are moms, dads, brothers, & sisters & w/ every accident a family is torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy,” Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) tweeted after reports of the accident emerged late Monday night. 

“As MTA & NTSB look into #MetroNorth crash we need to know how & why it happened & take steps to prevent these incidents from ever recurring,” Maloney continued. 

Metro-North had four high-profile accidents in 2013, including a collision of two trains in Connecticut, a freight rail accident in the same area of the track two months later, a crash that killed four people and an unrelated employee fatality. 

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said Wednesday that service was canceled on its Harlem Line between North White Plains and Pleasantville, N.Y. “until further notice” due to the accident investigation in Valhalla.