 "Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/The Daily Texan")
WASHINGTON — One Metro transit train smashed into the rear of another at the height of the city’s Monday evening rush hour, killing at least six people and injuring scores of others as the front end of the trailing train jackknifed violently into the air and fell atop the first.
Cars of both trains were ripped open and smashed together in the worst accident in the Metrorail system’s 33-year history. District of Columbia fire spokesman Alan Etter said crews had to cut some people out of what he described as a “mass casualty event.” Rescue workers propped steel ladders up to the upper train cars to help survivors scramble to safety. Seats from the smashed cars spilled out onto the track.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said six were confirmed dead, including one train operator. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said rescue workers treated 76 people at the scene and sent some of them to local hospitals, six with critical injuries. A search for further victims continued into the night.
The crash around 5 p.m. EDT took place on the red line, the system’s busiest, which runs below ground for much of its length but is at ground level at the accident site near the Maryland border in northeast Washington.
Metro chief John Catoe said the first train was stopped on the tracks, waiting for another to clear the station ahead, when the trailing train plowed into it from behind.
The National Transportation Safety Board took charge of the investigation and sent a team to the site. D.C. police and the FBI also had investigators at the scene to help search the wreckage for any overlooked passengers or evidence.
Officials would not say how fast the train was traveling at the time of the accident and had no explanation for the accident. The crash occurred in an area with a sizable distance between rail stations in which trains are allowed to travel at higher speeds, Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said.
Each train had six cars and was capable of holding as many as 1,200 people. Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said the trains were bound for downtown, meaning they were less likely to be filled during the afternoon rush hour.
More than 200 firefighters from D.C., Maryland and Virginia eventually converged on the scene.
“The people that were hurt, the ones that could speak, were calling back as we called out to them,” said passenger Jodie Wickett. “Lots of people were upset and crying, but there were no screams.”
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