Metro Trains Collide Outside of Washington, D.C. During Rush Hour Traffic

David Mittleman

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Two metro trains collided just outside of Washington, D.C. yesterday during rush hour traffic. The accident is being called “the worst in the city’s history” with nine people confirmed dead and another 75 wounded.

In the accident, a train operating on the heavily used Red Line rear-ended another stopped train at a considerably high speed at about 5 p.m. The rear train landed atop of the front train, trapping and crushing some passengers inside. Investigators are still treating the accident scene as a rescue operation, using such heavy equipment as cranes to extract other potential survivors from the mangled pile of glass and metal. The driver of the rear train, an operator since 2007, died in the accident.

Officials are searching for clues as to why this accident occurred. Initial signs of the investigation point to technical failures and possible driver error. However, the train that caused the accident was also part of an older fleet. In fact, The National Transportation Board had warned the Metrorail Transit System to phase the old fleet out back in 2006 due to major safety concerns.