SUV Driver in Deadly Train Crash Attended Chabad

The driver of an SUV at the center of a deadly crash with a New York commuter train has been identified as Ellen Schaeffer Brody, a Jewish mother of three from suburban Scarsdale who was an active member of her local Chabad synagogue.

From the Jewish Daily Forward:

Brody, 49, was the driver whose car became stuck at a railway crossing when a train slammed into the vehicle, killing her and five male passengers on the train.

The mother’s three daughters waited till 1:30 a.m. Wednesday hoping against hope that their mom would return home alive.

Their dad returned with the dreadful news: “She’s gone,” he told them, according to the New York Daily News.

“It was like a nightmare in slow motion,” Virginia Shasha told the paper. “The girls just collapsed and I did my best to comfort them.”

The family was active in Chabad of the Rivertowns, the paper said. Rabbi Benjy Silverman was consoling the bereaved family.

Alan Brody, via Facebook, announced plans for a Friday morning service for his wife at Chabad of the Rivertowns in Dobbs Ferry.

Brody was apparently driving home from her job at a jewelry store when her Mercedes SUV wound up on the tracks in the path of a packed commuter train around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Click here to continue reading at the Jewish Daily Forward.