Metro-North paid $1M to engineer in Valhalla crash that killed 6 in 2015. Families ask why

Metro-North agreed to pay $1 million to the engineer operating the train that collided with an SUV at a Valhalla crossing in 2015, killing six in the deadliest accident in the railroad’s history, The USA Today Network has learned.

The payout to Steven Smalls came after he sued the railroad and the estate of SUV driver Ellen Brody for emotional distress in 2017, claiming Metro-North’s negligence contributed to the Feb. 3, 2015 crash.

The USA Today Network revealed the existence of the settlement in 2019, but the railroad has resisted attempts by the crash victims’ families to get Metro-North to reveal how much Smalls was paid.

After a judge sided with the families, the total was revealed in court papers this month. Both sides are preparing for a legal showdown slated to start June 4 in Westchester County Supreme Court following nine years of litigation that’s produced more than 1,000 filings.

Attorneys for the families of dead and injured passengers called Metro-North’s request to keep jurors from hearing about the settlement an “underhanded plan” designed to buy Smalls’ silence.

“Its backroom attempt to enlist him back to ‘Team Metro North’ and present him as such should be subject to inquiry regarding this simple truth: Smalls has a million reasons to testify on Metro North’s behalf,” attorney Richard Steigman wrote in a May 3 filing.

Railroad says Brody at fault

Metro-North declined to comment, citing a gag order recently issued by the judge presiding over the case. In 2019, the railroad said Smalls acted heroically during the accident and called “meritless” suggestions he acted improperly.

Smalls’ attorney, Steven Kantor, denied that the settlement with Smalls and his wife Lacey would influence Smalls' testimony.

“Instead, the Smalls’ settlement agreement with Metro-North was simply a means to an end to some of the extensive amount of pain and suffering they had to endure as a result of this incident,” Kantor wrote in April.

Engineer: Did Metro-North 'buy the silence' of engineer in deadly Valhalla crash? Attorneys think so

Smalls, an Air Force veteran from Orange County, had been an engineer for nine months when the crash occurred. His attorneys say he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and no longer works for the railroad.

Attorneys representing the victims’ estates have argued that Smalls should have slowed the northbound Harlem Line train when he spotted a reflection on the tracks in front of him. They say if he hit the brakes sooner, Brody could have cleared the crossing in time.

Rail: On 4th anniversary of Valhalla Metro-North crash, third rail is focus of litigation

Instead, they say the train gained speed after Smalls sounded the horn for the first time 17 seconds before the crash. The train was going 59 mph when Smalls activated the emergency brakes three seconds before the crash, the NTSB found.

The railroad says Brody was at fault for failing to move her Mercedes SUV off the crossing, the same conclusion reached by the National Transportation Safety Board.

In addition to Brody, a 49-year-old mother of three from Edgement, five passengers in Train 659 were killed in the 6:30 p.m. crash. They were Robert Dirks, 36, of Chappaqua; Walter Liedtke, 69, and Eric Vandercar, 53, both of Bedford Hills; Aditya Tomar, 41, of Danbury, Connecticut and Joseph Nadol, 42, of Ossining.

Defective third rail?

At trial, attorneys are expected to argue that the Harlem Line’s third-rail was defective, coming unhinged and entering the first car — the quiet car — of the eight-car train. It pierced the SUV’s fuel tank and the first rail car, causing it to catch fire.

Metro-North’s attorneys have tried to limit jurors from considering testimony about the third rail. The issue is scheduled to go before a state appeals court Wednesday, with the potential for delaying the start of the five-week trial.

Court papers say Smalls also recently settled his negligence claims with the Town of Mount Pleasant. Smalls claimed the town should have shut down the Commerce Street crossing when it realized it was a danger. Details of that settlement were not available.

Crossing: Shutting deadly Metro-North crossing won't be an easy fix

In an interview with state and federal investigators in Tarrytown two days after the accident, Smalls revealed what he saw as the train approached the crossing.

“I see a reflection or something, and normally when I see a reflection, I think it’s an animal or something but this – I had a feeling that this is obviously not an animal because it’s a crossing and it’s a reflection of something black and shiny,” Smalls said.

Realizing it was an SUV, Smalls said decided to "dump the train” — railroad speak for hitting the brakes — while frantically blowing the horn.

While he did so, he noticed Brody’s SUV move forward and stop.

“And I’m hoping to myself that she’s going to actually zoom all the way, but she stopped,” he told investigators. “She proceeds – she was fouling, the front of her car and then she put her whole car right on the grade crossing.”

The NTSB report said a witness watched as Brody exited the SUV after a crossing gate came down on the back of her car. She then got back into the car and pulled forward.

Smalls stood and braced himself for impact. He then went about trying to aid a man in the first car who was bloodied and badly injured.

Why the gag order?

Attorneys for Brody’s husband, Alan, sought the recent gag order, which was opposed by attorneys for Metro-North.

Attorney Phillip Russotti said the gag order was necessary to limit negative comments about Ellen Brody from reaching the jury.

“After this accident there was an avalanche of news coverage about this accident, virtually all of it negative to my deceased client,” attorney Philip Russotti wrote in May. “It remains to be seen how many potential jurors have been affected by this news coverage. My concern is a repeat of that negative publicity if ANYONE was to speak to the press.”

Crash: Final seconds of deadly Metro-North Valhalla crash raise questions about engineer's actions

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Metro-North paid settlement to engineer in 2015 crash that killed 6