MTA train operator Garrett Goble, devoted dad to two young sons, died the same way that he lived: Doing the right thing.
The heroic transit worker’s body was found on the subway tracks in Harlem after evacuating terrified riders early Friday from a smoky and suspicious subterranean blaze aboard an uptown train. The 36-year-old Goble was discovered on the roadbed in front of the No. 2 train when first responders arrived to the 110th St./Central Park North station about 3:15 a.m.
“He was the best, he really was,” said co-worker Linda Echevarria, a longtime friend. “He was a loving, kind man, and he died helping others. It’s heartbreaking.”
Cops were attempting to determine if an arsonist set the fire in the second car of the train inside the station. A suspect was taken into custody and remained at the 28th Precinct for questioning, a Fire Department source told the Daily News.
The brave transit worker was the only fatality in the bizarre morning incident where a charred shopping cart was found inside the Bronx-bound train. Investigators believe an accelerant in the shopping cart helped the fire spread, but more tests of the evidence are needed to be sure, sources said.
Before his death, the six-year MTA veteran helped steer straphangers to safety before getting lost in the smoke-filled tunnel and collapsing, possibly from a coronary arrest, according to a source.
