WASHINGTON — A day after the worst Metro subway train accident in the history of the city’s system, emergency officials continued to comb through the wreckage, searching for additional victims and indications as to what could have caused the crash, officials said.
By Tuesday morning, seven people were confirmed killed and 76 wounded, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said at a news conference. City officials, speaking on background to reporters, had earlier Tuesday put the death toll at nine. Two of the wounded were in critical condition, and there may still be other bodies entombed in the wreckage, Mr. Fenty said.
“Our first thoughts and efforts are with the families and friends of the victims,” he said.
Investigators were still treating the accident scene as a rescue operation, bringing in a crane and other heavy equipment, emergency officials said. Cadaver dogs and search and rescue dogs were being used in the hunt for any additional survivors or fatalities, both on the track and in the surrounding wooded area. Two minor firefighter injuries were reported.
In the accident, one train on the system’s heavily used Red Line rear-ended a stopped train at considerable speed at about 5 p.m. between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations, leaving the rear train atop the forward train in a mangled cluster of metal and glass. The driver of the rear train, Jeanice McMillan, 42, was among those killed, officials said.
Initial signs pointed to a mixture of technical failures and possible driver error.
On Tuesday, National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said that the agency had raised concerns about the crash-readiness of the older trains used by the city. The striking train was one of these older trains — Metro’s 1000 series.
The agency had in the past several years recommended that the city’s older trains be retrofitted with greater safety devices or that they be phased out. The officials also recommended that all of the older trains be fitted with “event recorders.” Those recommendations were not addressed, she said.
To prevent trains from colliding, Metro designed a computerized system that controls speed and braking. If trains get too close to each other, the computers are supposed to automatically apply the brakes.
“We need to see if that system actually what was being used at the time and if there were any faults,” Ms. Hersman said. “We’re going to be looking at the tracks, at the signal system and at the train operation to understand what happened.”
The investigation will include a “sight distance test” to judge whether the operator could see the train in front of her, as well an effort to determine how fast the moving train was going. Ms. McMillan had been a train operator since 2007, officials said.
Nine data recorders were being carried by the train that was struck, which was made of newer 3000 and 5000-series train cars. All are expected to be recovered and analyzed. The Safety Board had recommended that all older cars also be fitted with data recorders, and that recommendation was also not addressed, Ms. Hersman said.
Cathy Lanier, the city’s police chief, said that officials were in the process of identifying the dead and that family notifications would begin later Tuesday. Metro officials warned that they were running limited service on the Red Line and advised commuters to find another way to work.
In a statement, President Obama said: “Michelle and I were saddened by the terrible accident in Northeast Washington, D.C., today. 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.”
The general manager of the Metro system, John B. Catoe Jr., said Monday, that the crash occurred when one train headed into the center of the city stopped near a platform and was waiting for permission to proceed. The second train came from behind and hit it, he said.
Between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations where the crash occurred, there is a long stretch of track, meaning trains often reach high speeds.
“It was a huge impact,” said Maya Maroto, 31, of Burtonsville, Md., who was in the third car of the moving 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 sitting near them flew out of her seat and landed sprawled on the floor.
Ms. Maroto said 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 one. Minutes later she looked again and saw a body on the tracks.
Passengers said about 15 minutes passed before officials showed up or any announcements were made.
“It was kind of scary that no one was there,” said Allison Miner, 49, a nutritionist from Silver Spring, Md., who was in the same car as Ms. Maroto.
Suzanne Motta, who was riding in the fourth car of the moving train, said, “Anybody standing up got knocked down.”
“A gentleman came in carrying a girl with a laceration on her foot,” Ms. Motta added. “He had a laceration on his head. Everybody was pretty shook up.”
Jervis Bryant, 39, who lives about two blocks from the crash site, arrived at the scene soon after he heard a loud boom. He said he saw people inside the bottom train car. “It was a scene I never thought I’d see,” he said.
After the accident, one subway car sat fully on top of a car from the other train. The car on top had part of its floor sheared off, and the wreckage was a jumble of twisted metal. Seats from the smashed cars had spilled onto the tracks.
Several passengers were carried off on stretchers, and rescue crews used ladders and heavy equipment to cut into the wreckage and reach passengers stuck inside. Helicopters buzzed overhead. The police scrambled to coordinate traffic, onlookers and the rescue workers.
Emergency medical personnel set up a triage site at the nearby Jarboe Printing Company. Rescue officials said about 75 passengers were treated for injuries. At least three people were seriously injured and the rest had only minor injuries. Numerous people walked away from the crash site wearing bandages, slings and in at least one case, a neck brace.
Much of the Metrorail system, which opened in 1976, runs below ground. Both trains involved in the accident were above ground.
“This is 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.
The accident was the second involving passenger fatalities in the system. In 1982, three people died after a train derailed between the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian stations.
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