Coronavirus: 'Hero' subway conductor who saved train full of passengers dies of virus

'He showed what it means to be a public servant. We will never forget his heroism'

58-year-old Benjamin Schaeffer had worked for the MTA for 22 years (REUTERS)

A veteran Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) conductor who once saved a train full of passengers has died from coronavirus.

58-year-old Benjamin Schaeffer, who had worked for the MTA for 22 years, died from the virus on Tuesday at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, according to a report by The New York Daily News.

Despite members of the Transport Workers Union, of which Mr Schaeffer was a time-honoured member, having started an appeal to find treatment to save the conductor’s life, it sadly came too late to help him fight off the virus.

“Unfortunately, by the time Ben received the treatment, he had already been on a ventilator for some time,” Rapid Transit Operations Vice President Eric Loegel wrote in a statement, according to The Daily News.

“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone,” he said.

In 2018, Mr Schaeffer, who was born in Brooklyn, was awarded a medal by the MTA after he swiftly evacuated passengers from a train when a rider poured gasoline on the floor of its carriage.

“I told everyone just, ‘Get outta the car,’” Mr Schaeffer told NBC at the time. “No pleasantries. No courtesy. its an emergency situation, just get outta the car.”

Interim New York City Transit president Sarah Feinberg reportedly called Mr Schaeffer’s death “a devastating loss for the entire NYCT family.”

“He showed what it means to be a public servant... We will never forget his heroism and dedication to moving this city,“ she told the newspaper in a statement.

Mr Shchaeffer was said to have volunteered to go back to conducting MTA trains after having retired due to PTSD induced by the arson incident.

“Despite the fact that Ben didn’t have to return to active duty because of his permanent PTSD condition, he went back anyway,” Robert Diamond, President of the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association told The Daily News.

The transport lover was also known for standing up for being an advocate for many different communities, including his religious community, being one of only two Orthodox Jewish subway conductors in the MTA.

“Ben died a hero defending his city, its people, and his beloved subway,” Mr Diamond said.

The Daily News reported that at least 96 MTA employees have died as a result of Covid-19, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority chair Pat Foye.