Indian among 6 victims of train accident in New York suburb

NEW YORK: A 41-year-old India-born man is among the six victims of the horrific accident in a New York suburb in which a crowded commuter train rammed into a SUV stalled on the tracks and caught fire.

Aditya Tomar has been identified as a victim of the crash between a Metro-North train and the sport utility vehicle (SUV) on Tuesday evening.

Tomar, who was born in India, lived in Danbury, Connecticut, worked at financial giant JP Morgan in Manhattan.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino called him to notify that Tomar had been killed in the accident.

Boughton said he spoke with Tomar's wife to express condolence on behalf of the city and to offer assistance to the family.

He said Tomar's family has asked for privacy. "Understandably, they need some time to grieve and mourn the loss of their loved one," Boughton said.

A report in the Danbury News Times quoted Tomar's mother-law Dee Persaud as saying that he had lived in Danbury with his wife Reshma. The couple did not have children.

"We are just shocked and grieving at the moment," she was quoted as saying.

The accident was the deadliest crash in the history of Metro-North, the second busiest US commuter railroad.

The Metro-North train had departed from the busy Grand Central Station in Manhattan at 5:45 in the evening and had rammed into a car on the tracks in Valhalla, a suburb of New York City, killing six people and injuring 15 others.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said that the gates at the railway crossing came down on top of the car, which was stopped on the tracks.

The woman who was driving the car got out to look at the rear of the car, came back in and was struck by the approaching train as she drove forward. She has been identified as Ellen Brody, 49, a married mother of three.

The other victims of the crash are -- financial executive Eric Vandercar, 53, curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Walter Liedtke, 69, research scientist Robert Dirks, 36 and Joseph Nadol.

Investigators said the biggest question they are looking into is why the car was on the tracks in the first place.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Robert Sumwalt said during a news conference that a variety of factors are being looked at, including the electrified third rail, the crossing signal system and emergency exits.

The NTSB, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the MTA have launched investigations into the accident.