NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the findings on what caused a fatal commuter rail crash north of New York City in 2015. (all times local):
8:30 p.m.
The agency that runs Metro-North Railroad says it appreciates a federal safety investigation into a crash that killed six people in 2015 outside New York City, and has been working to reduce the possibility of railroad crossing accidents.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Tuesday it was working to re-engineer ground-level crossings, eliminate them where possible and enforce driving rules at crossings.
The National Transportation Safety Board has finalized its investigation, but says it hasn’t been able to determine why the driver of an SUV drove her vehicle into the path of an oncoming train. Driver Ellen Brody was among those killed.
Investigators found that the warning gates and lights had been working properly.
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1:30 p.m.
Federal safety investigators say they haven’t been able to determine why the driver of an SUV drove her car into a railroad crossing and into the path of an oncoming train in a wreck that killed six people outside New York City in 2015.
The National Transportation Safety Board met Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to finalize the investigation of the crash on the Metro-North Railroad.
The driver, Ellen Brody, died in the crash along with five people aboard the train.
Investigators found that warning gates and lights worked properly.
NTSB head Robert Sumwalt hypothesized that Brody had been in traffic and wasn’t aware she was in a rail crossing.
Investigators say the design of the third rail also played a role. They said it stayed in one piece, like a spear, rather than break apart when it was ripped from the ground.
That rail pierced the train, contributing to the death toll.
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12:20 a.m.
NEW YORK - Federal safety investigators will present their findings following a commuter rail crash that killed six people in the suburbs of New York City in 2015.
The National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to meet Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
A U.S. official tells The Associated Press that investigators have concluded an unusual rail design contributed to the death toll in the February 2015 Metro-North Railroad crash.
The official says about 340 feet (100 meters) of electrified rail pierced the train after it struck an SUV at a crossing in Valhalla, New York.
The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to the AP on Monday on the condition of anonymity.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates Metro-North, says it will closely review any safety recommendations made by the NTSB.
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