D.C Subway Wreck Death Toll at 7; Earlier Safety Warnings Went Unheeded

At least seven people have been confirmed dead and dozens more were seriously injured in this week’s Washington, D.C. subway train crash, a tragedy which came years after warnings to upgrade the safety of the commuter train cars were not addressed.

The accident occurred during the busy evening rush hour on June 22, 2009 on the transit system’s Red Line on the northeastern outskirts of the nation’s capital, near the border with Maryland. Officials said one train plowed into the back of another train that had stopped on the tracks, thrusting several cars of the moving train into the air and on top of the stopped train. Both cars were headed in the same direction at the time of the accident, officials said.

In addition to the dead, at least 77 people were hospitalized for injuries in what D.C. transit officials said was the deadliest commuter train accident in the 33-year history of the Metro Area Transit Authority, according to a Reuters report.

2006 Warning to Improve Car Safety

In the wake of the rail tragedy, Washington, D.C. transit authorities said they were warned in 2006 by federal transportation authorities to improve the safety standards of older commuter train cars that did not include all the safety measures of newer cars.

“We recommended to WMATA to either retrofit those cars or phase them out of the fleet,” said National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman Debbie Hersman. “They have not been able to do that and our recommendation was not addressed.”

The warnings followed a 2004 accident on the same transit system that injured 20 passengers. The NTSB recommended replacement of the older subway cars with newer, upgraded cars, according to Reuters. Transit system officials said after Monday’s deadly wreck that changes to the cars still in use will be made as needed.

Under the circumstances of the accident, in which a train plowed into the back of a stationary car at a high rate of speed, officials said there is no guarantee that safety improvements to either of the cars would have effectively prevented injuries or deaths.

“Any car that strikes another vehicle at a certain rate of speed and with a certain amount of weight, you’re going to have some major damage,” said John Catoe, the general manager of the Metro system.

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