Ellen Schaeffer Brody, a Jewish mother of three from Scarsdale, was identified as the driver of the SUV that caused a deadly Metro-North train accident in suburban New York.
Brody, 49, and five passengers aboard the train were killed during rush hour on Tuesday evening when the northbound train struck Brody’s Jeep Cherokee at a railroad crossing in Valhalla. It’s not clear why Brody’s vehicle had stopped on the tracks.
Brody’s employer, Varda Singer of ICD Contemporary Jewelry in Chappaqua, told JTA that Brody “was a real tzaddik.” Brody had worked for about 15 years at the store, which was formerly known as Israeli Jewelry Designs.
“She was a woman who always saw the glass half full, cheerful, an amazing mother with three kids, always helping her husband,” Singer told JTA. “She was selfless. She always put herself last. She really cared more about other people than herself.”
Brody was active in her local Chabad, according to Singer.
Singer said one of Brody’s daughters called another jewelry store employee after midnight last night to report that her mother was missing, having never returned home from work.
Just last month, two of Brody’s daughters returned home from Birthright trips to Israel, according to Singer. Brody’s friends at the store were preparing to celebrate her 50th birthday together in March, Singer said.
Tuesday’s accident on the commuter rail’s Harlem line was the deadliest in Metro-North history.
