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Five Westchester Residents ID'd In Fatal Metro-North Train/SUV Collision

This story has been updated.

Walter Liedtke, 69, of Bedford Hills

Walter Liedtke, 69, of Bedford Hills

Photo Credit: 82nd-and-fifth.metmuseum.org
Eric Vandercar, 53, of Bedford Hills

Eric Vandercar, 53, of Bedford Hills

Photo Credit: Merisrow Financial
Ellen Brody, 49, of Edgemont was the SUV driver killed in Tuesday night's collision with a Metro-North train.

Ellen Brody, 49, of Edgemont was the SUV driver killed in Tuesday night's collision with a Metro-North train.

Photo Credit: Photo provided by ICD Contemporary Jewelry
Westchester Medical Center officials, from left, Dr. Ivan Miller, Dr. Joseph Turkowski and nurse Patricia Wrobbel, address the media Wednesday.

Westchester Medical Center officials, from left, Dr. Ivan Miller, Dr. Joseph Turkowski and nurse Patricia Wrobbel, address the media Wednesday.

Photo Credit: Jon Craig
Photo Credit: Skip Pearlman

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- All five killed in the front car of the Metro-North train that collided with an SUV in Valhalla Tuesday night were men, according to multiple reports that came during the course of the day Wednesday.

Two of those killed were Bedford Hills residents: Eric Vandercar and Walter Liedtke.

Vandercar, 53, an investment banker, is survived by a wife and two children.

Liedtke, 69, was a curator and historian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan.

Two New Castle residents also died in the collision.

Robert Dirks, 36, and Joseph Nadol, 42, were ID'd by Westchester officials as the other Westchester fatalities during the evening Wednesday.

Danbury, Conn., resident Tomar Aditya, 41, was the other train passenger IDed as a fatality in the crash.

The female driver of the SUV was Ellen Brody, a resident of Edgemont.

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said the 49-year-old mother of three was "a really exceptional person, very nice and very warm."

Brody, who worked in Chappaqua at ICD Contemporary Jewelry, is also survived her husband.

For more on Ellen Brody, click here.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino  said families of the five victims aboard the train and the female driver of the SUV gathered at the Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office during the day Wednesday.

"All but one of the bodies is beyond recognition," Astorino said, adding dental records for victims are being gathered.

Westchester Medical Center officials said early afternoon that a total of 15 were injured in the crash that killed six. Seven were initially in critical condition with one remaining in critical condition.

Four of the injured have been released.

Dr. Ivan Miller said one patient "mentioned to me he had just changed seats. It saved his life."

Miller said Westchester Medical Center activated "mass casualty incident" protocol, meaning they mobilized extra staff, brought in extra supplies and started moving less serious patients out of the Emergency Room.

Among the injuries were burns, inhalation injuries and crush injuries as well as open fractures, minor head injuries and cuts. NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt, who arrived in Westchester on Wednesday morning, said its investigation would continue as scheduled this week even in the event of inclement weather.

"We have several busy days ahead of us," he said. "We want to find out not only what happened, but why it happened so it won't happen again."

Sumwalt said the NTSB has experts in railroad signals, traffic signals, railroad crossing signals, recorders and emergency response as part of its team on the scene.

 

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