They're saying nine have lost their lives so far.
Posted on 06/22/2009 2:31:06 PM PDT by Pyro7480
CNN producer Vito Maggiolo saying "one train on top of each other."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Are you on the Anglican pinglist? David Bottoms from All Saints Anglican Charlottesville is now an Anglican chaplain at Walter Reed. He was on the train and gave comfort to the injured.
SNIP
Catoe also said trains will not run on that section of track Tuesday. He also said all trains would run in manual mode, with the operator in control.
"Metro customers should avoid the red line from Rhode Island Avenue to Glenmont," Catoe said shortly after 9 p.m. He added there would still be shuttle bus service. The transit agency was also working on a more definitive plan for morning commuters.
Catoe declined to answer repeated questioning about whether the striking train was being operated in manual mode. He said Metro policy is to operate trains in automatic mode during peak hours.
NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said nine investigators from her office were dispatched to the scene and would be looking at whether the striking train was being operated manually, or in automatic.
"It's very early in this investigation (to determine if) previous recommendations are applicable in this instance. We are going to be looking very closely at all of the past recommendations we have issued, Metro's compliance with those recommendations, and whether or not those recommendations apply in this accident scenario.
Catoe did say the stopped train was a 5,000-series. The striking train was a 1,000-series train, the oldest in Metro's fleet. It is scheduled to begin being retired in 2012, according to the NTSB Web site.
Hersman also addressed NTSB's previous recommendations about the crash-worthiness of 1000-series trains.
"It's very early in this investigation (to determine if) previous recommendations are applicable in this instance," she said." We are going to be looking very closely at all of the past recommendations we have issued, Metro's compliance with those recommendations, and whether or not those recommendations apply in this accident scenario."
The collision happened near where New Hampshire Avenue crosses over the tracks.
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No, I’m not on that ping list. Is he a freeper? Is he OK?
When I worked at Catholic U, there was a young law grad who was killed in a Metro crash. I think 3 people died in that one; it would have been in the 1980’s.
From WRC:
"Michelle and I were saddened by the terrible accident in northeast Washington, D.C., today," said President Barack Obama. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends affected by this tragedy. I want to thank the brave first responders who arrived immediately to save lives. My staff has been in touch with Mayor Fenty's office and will continue to monitor the situation."
He's from Charlottesville?!?$
I think that’s unfair. After all, it’s a couple miles from where he lives, in the capital city. He’d seem a dope not to mention it, being so close.
Thanks for the info - note that Catoe refused to answer whether the train at issue was operating manually or on automatic. My suspicion is that they were in manual mode because of the earlier incident (which almost surely triggered a massive backup) and as a result somebody (one of the train operators, a dispatcher, a manager, etc.) screwed up. We shall see.
Have to wonder if he’d have put out a statement that quickly were the crash at Tenleytown rather than Ft Totten.
They're saying nine have lost their lives so far.
June 22, 2009 - 11:42pm
WASHINGTON - A Metro train smashed into the back of another at the height of the Monday evening rush hour, killing at least nine people and injuring scores of others as cars from the trailing train jackknifed into the air and fell atop the first.
SNIP
“Red tagged” = severely injured
Deborah Foster, Hagerstown
Foster was sitting in the third car from the front when her train struck the back of the train in front of it. She pushed the train’s intercom, but there was no response. Other passengers pulled the doors open, and she joined them in peering down the tracks.
“I saw the first car of our train straight up in the air,” she said.
Foster said she waited about 20 minutes before help arrived. She was not injured, but others were. As she walked past the train, she could see people bloody from the face down. “There were a lot of foot injuries, too,” Foster added.
SNIP
Garrett Dorsey, Northwest D.C.
Dorsey said he was on the train that had been at a standstill for about 10 minutes before it was hit by another train. He said everyone in his car fell out of their seats after the impact. Seats that were under a transformer were blown out of their original positions, he said.
Dorsey said someone tried to use the emergency exit, but only one door opened. No one exited his car until rescue officials came, he said, because they were concerned that the tracks still might have electricity running through them. When he got out of the train, he took a picture of the point of impact of the two trains, with one car on top of another.
“It was like a blanket that someone tried to put on the other car.”
Did you know someone on the train, Silvie ??
The President’s statement on the train accident, which occurred in close proximity to the White House, was prompt and considerate.
However, Obama was the Commander-in-Chief of the murdered soldier and is the Commander-in-Chief of the injured soldier. The duty, honor and responsibility of that position should have placed him in “close proximity” to them, too.
His heart just isn’t there.
Yes, with the Street View, you can see the ABC industrial storefront, which is visible in some rooftop news videos. It’s on 2nd St. NE, on the east side of the tracks just south of the bridge. If the trains were headed south, towards downtown, then the overtaking train rode up over the stopped train, or at least the superstructure did.
RIP.
Yeah, it was prompt, considerate, and shallow boilerplate. He’s a cold fish. Anyway, nine are dead. What a horror.
Very sad. I just do not understand how this can happen with the countless safety precautions and back ups to prevent this from happening. I really hope it is not cell phone related. Prayers to everyone involved.
Do all the “tracks” - the real rails for wheels as well - have electricity, or just the “power” rail in the middle? I thought electricity was only through the large middle power rail. In fact, those were the only “rails” that had large red safety warnings on them at every station when you stood on the platform looking over them.
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