New York Post – by Aaron Short, Lorena Mongelli, Larry Celona and Joe Tacopino
A chemist, an art expert and three Wall Street executives were the five men killed when their Metro-North train slammed into an SUV, friends said Wednesday.
Robert Dirks, a 36-year-old father of two, was remembered by his father for not only being a brilliant scientist, but a doting dad to his kids.
“I expected him to be a scientist and excel at his work, because he did so well in the academic settings,” Michael Dirks told The Post. “But it was beautiful to watch how good he interacted with his two children.”
Dirks was born in Thailand and received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech. He worked for the biochemistry firm D.E. Shaw Research.
Another victim, Walter Liedtke of Bedford Hills, was curator for European paintings at the Met, according to museum Director Thomas P. Campbell.
“It appears as though he was among the victims in the first car,” Campbell e-mailed to staff. “We are all shocked by this news and have his entire family, particularly his wife, Nancy, in our thoughts.”
Eric Vandercar, 53, lived in Bedford and worked in Manhattan for Mesirow Financial, said friends. He’s survived by his wife and two kids.
Also identified as among the dead were Joe Nadol, a 42-year-old father of three and JPMorgan executive, Bloomberg News said.
“Our thoughts and support are with Joe’s family,” a spokeswoman for the company said in an e-mail to Bloomberg.
Aditya Tomar, 41, who was born in India, also worked at JPMorgan, in asset management, according to the mayor of Danbury, Conn., where Tomar lived.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Bain, Rebecca Harshbarger and Frank Rosario
http://nypost.com/2015/02/04/investment-banker-among-6-killed-in-metro-north-crash/