Washington Metro Train Crash Kills Six

Six people were killed and more than 70 were injured on Monday when one Metro subway train slammed into another on the outskirts of the city during the afternoon rush hour.

“It looks to be the worst Metro accident in D.C. history,” said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “We’re going to investigate this and find out what happened.”

IMAGE : "A rush hour collision occurred between the Fort Totten and Takoma Park stations in Washington on Monday."

The general manager of the Metro system, John B. Catoe Jr., said one train had stopped at a platform — and was waiting permission to proceed — when it was hit from behind by the second train. He did not speculate on whether safety devices intended to prevent such crashes had failed, saying authorities were still focused on rescuing passengers.

At the scene, one subway car sat fully on top of a car from the other train. One of the trains had part of its roof sheared off, but the wreckage was a jumble of twisted metal. Seats from the smashed cars had spilled onto the tracks.

IMAGE : "Two Red Line Metrorail trains collided during the evening rush hour on Monday in Washington."

Several passengers were carried off on stretchers while rescue crews used ladders and heavy equipment to cut into the wreckage and get at passengers stuck inside. Helicopters buzzed overhead. The police scrambled to coordinate the traffic, onlookers and the rescue workers.

The crash took place about 5 p.m. on a heavily traveled Metro route known as “the red line” that shuttles thousands of commuters every day from the suburbs into the city. It occurred between the Takoma Park and Fort Totten stations, where there is a long stretch of track, meaning trains often reach high speeds.

“It was a huge impact,” said Maya Maroto, 31, from Burtonsville, Md., who was in the third car of the trains that hit the standing train as she headed into the city to see a movie. “Our first inclination was that we hit another train or car.”

An elderly woman standing near them flew out of her seat and was sprawled on the floor. She said that she did not realize the seriousness of the accident until she looked out the door and saw the front of her train wedged on top of the other train. Minutes later she looked again and saw a body on the tracks.

Passengers said it took about 15 minutes before officials showed up or announcements were made to the passengers.

“It was kind of scary that no one was there,” said Allison Miner, 49, a nutritionist from Silver Spring who was with Ms. Maroto on the train that hit the stopped train.

Much of the Metrorail system, which opened in 1976, runs below ground, including a section that goes under the Potomac River from Washington into Virginia, and part of it goes over the river. The trains were above ground when they collided.

“This an aging system and one that needs to be looked at very closely,” said Peter Goelz, former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, referring to the city rail system which he added has had several accidents this year, mostly involving rail workers.

It was the third time in the last 15 years that two Metro trains have been involved in major accidents. The last time in November 2004, when a Red Line train rolled backwards down a stretch of track, and crashed into another train at the Woodley Park station. Twenty people were injured.

In September, a commuter train collided with a freight train in Los Angeles, killing 25 people and injuring more than 130. Federal investigators later said that the engineer on the commuter train was sending text messages on his cellphone seconds before the crash.