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Statement from NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow on the Fifth Anniversary of the Death of Garrett Goble

MTA
Updated Mar 27, 2025 5:00 p.m.
mural

“None of us in the Transit family will ever forget the sacrifice and bravery of Train Operator Garrett Goble, who died while literally walking through a wall of smoke saving passengers on his train after one rider deliberately started a fire. Garrett's memory lives on at the Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College station, where a mural with his portrait was unveiled a year after his passing. Generations of train operators will learn about his courage, which was in the finest tradition of public service.”

Additional information

  • Garrett Goble died in a train fire on the 2 line in Harlem March 27, 2020.
  • A suspected arsonist arrested on a murder charge in connection with the deadly fire, Nathaniel Avinger, 50, was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial and remains in a psychiatric facility.
  • See photos of the Garrett Goble mural here