Commuter train engineer still haunted by deadly crash

Engineer Steven Smalls is still recovering after the crash at a grade crossing at Commerce Street in Valhalla on Feb. 3.(Photo: WNBC NEWS 4 NY)WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The Metro-North engineer who helped passengers to safety before being overcome by smoke remains at home recovering, his lawyer said."Physically he is OK — emotionally he is having a hard time," Jeffrey Chartier told The Journal News.Steven Smalls was operating a northbound Harlem Line train on Feb. 3 when he spotted a vehicle in the grade crossing at Commerce Street in Valhalla. Smalls blasted the horn and applied the emergency brakes, but couldn't avoid slamming into the SUV driven by Ellen Brody of Edgemont. The powerful collision caused an explosion and forced the third rail through the SUV and first car of the train, narrowly missing Smalls. Brody and five passengers in the first car were killed.Smalls, who suffered a shoulder injury and smoke inhalation, helped half a dozen passengers out of the burning car before flames made it too dangerous, he told investigators.The 32-year-old Orange County resident has not been back to work but has been considering when to return, Chartier said."Ideally he wants to get his life back together," he said.Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said Smalls is on medical leave and must pass a physical before he comes back to work. The railroad has no set policy for when engineers can or should return after an accident, she said.Vanilla Ice: Burglary arrest 'blown out of proportion'Feb 19, 2015