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“These things happen,” said Brij Jarrith, who has been taking Metro-North trains out of Fairfield to New York City for 30 years. “It sounds like it was the driver who tried to force her way in.”
While speculation surrounds the crash, which is still under investigation, many agreed with Jarrith, who called Tuesday night’s crash “an isolated incident.”
Six people were killed and at least 12 injured after the crash, when the Jeep was struck by a Harlem Line train north of the Valhalla station at the Commerce Street crossing in New York.
“I think people need to be more educated about what to do when you get stuck on the tracks,” said Cheryl Zilinyi, who has been commuting on Metro-North for the past eight years.
Zilinyi’s comments echoed much of the confusion among Wednesday morning commuters surrounding the collision. Metro-North spokesman Aaron Donovan said the woman driving the Jeep was stuck on the tracks, got out of the vehicle to check her car and then returned to the driver’s seat when the train hit.
The crash, which also took the lives of six train passengers, was the first incident of 2015, a year in which Gov. Dannel Malloy has demanded improvements from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the commuter lines. However, recent years have brought a number of incidents that have caused injuries, death and delays for riders.
“I haven’t seen much improvement,” said Jarrith, when asked of his confidence in the MTA moving forward. But he said he doesn’t commute by car into the city because “it’s not practical.”
Despite the cynicism that generally surrounds discussions on Metro-North improvements, many agreed that taking the train to work is the best bet for commuters.
“Every mode of transportation is dangerous in one way or another,” Zilinyi said. “For most of us, there obviously isn’t any other choice. You’re not going to drive, driving is even more dangerous.”
Steven Vacco, a recent college graduate who now commutes from Fairfield’s downtown station, agreed with Zilinyi. Vacco, who opts for the train over driving because of travel time, said riding the rails comes with a catch.
“It’s pretty scary. It could happen anywhere, it could happen on the road, you could get in a car crash,” Vacco said. “But it is kind of scary.”
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