2 DC transit workers killed while working on Maryland tracks in latest deaths on Metro system

2 DC transit workers killed working on tracks

WASHINGTON — Two veteran workers on the Washington area’s transit system were struck and killed by a maintenance truck while working on a track Tuesday, the latest in a string of fatalities on the Metro system since last year.

Jeff Garrard, 49, and Sung Oh, 68, were installing safety equipment on a track that was closed to regular service for the night when they were hit. One of them died at the scene, a few blocks from the Rockville Metro Station in Maryland, and the other on the way to a hospital.

Metro says both men lived in Montgomery County, Md., and were automatic train control technicians. They were hit by a large truck equipped to drive on the track when electricity is shut down.

Garrard, of Clarksburg, had worked for Metro since 1990, and Oh had worked there since 1998.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.

The Metro system, which extends into the suburbs to link the capital with neighboring areas of Maryland and Virginia, has seen a series of fatal accidents and mishaps since last year. The worst was a June crash that killed eight passengers and the train operator. Two other workers were killed in separate accidents last year.

Last month, a team of inspectors was nearly hit by a train that Metro officials say was traveling too fast. Three workers were hurt in November when a train returning to a northern Virginia rail yard hit a parked train.

The latest accident came about two weeks after Metro held a three-day workshop on track safety with experts from around the country.

“We have intensified safety — there’s no question about it, partly in light of the deaths of the two employees,” Metro board chairman Jim Graham told WTOP radio Tuesday. “There’s a lot that’s been put into this, but something went terribly wrong this morning.”

Jackie L. Jeter, president of Almagated Transit Union Local 689, which represents Metro workers, urged the transit agency to take steps to ensure the safety of workers and riders. Jeter said the union was cooperating in the investigation.

Tuesday’s deaths occurred at about 1:45 a.m. The accident disrupted the morning rush hour for many commuters from Maryland as red line service was shut down between the Shady Grove and Twinbrook stations while the crash was investigated. Shuttle service was being provided between the stations.

The employees who were killed were installing new automatic train control equipment in the track bed. A failure in the automatic train control system, which detects the presence of a train on the track, is believed to have contributed to the June crash. However, Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said the work being done Tuesday morning was routine maintenance.

Besides the string of accidents, Metro faces an uncertain budget picture and will likely have to raise fares or cut service. The agency’s general manager, John Catoe, unexpectedly announced his resignation earlier this month. Catoe joined the agency three years ago, pledging to make safety the No. 1 priority. His last day will be April 2.

Graham said safety would be strengthened if the federal government established safety standards for transit agencies.

Last month, the Obama administration asked Congress to give the Federal Transit Administration authority to impose safety standards on subways, light rail and other urban train systems. Current law prohibits the federal government from doing so.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: www.wmata.com/

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689: www.atulocal689.org/