Adam Tuss, wtop.com
WASHINGTON — Is Metro doing enough for the families of the victims of last year’s deadly Red Line crash?
“There’s really been no embracing of the families (by Metro) to work with the families over these last 12 months,” Kenneth Hawkins, who lost his brother Dennis in the crash, tells WTOP.
“As soon as the funerals were over, there was no follow up from them.”
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Metro created a $250,000 fund to help those who survived the crash — and those who lost loved ones.
“I feel for the families,” says Metro Interim General Manager Richard Sarles. “It is something that will live with them forever.”
Sarles wasn’t the leader of Metro at the time of the crash. The accident happened under the watch of former General Manager John Catoe.
Yet Sarles — the former head of New Jersey Transit — says the crash still affected him.
“When I heard about this accident, I felt some pain because of that. I understand the tragedy that comes to the families.”
Sarles says in his opinion, there’s an obvious way to honor those that are hurting or gone.
“Something that shouldn’t be lost — in my view, is that one of the best ways to honor these victims is to make this a safer system. That is what has been my focus,” says Sarles.
But is the Metro system safe?
“Everything about the Metro system makes me nervous,” sighed one rider outside the Tenleytown station recently.
Hawkins, still dealing with the loss of his brother, says a ride on Metro has changed for him as well.
“Typically when I get on the train, I’m sitting there saying — ‘This could happen. This train could not be safe.'”
So does the fear of another crash keep Sarles up at night?
“I would rather ride the Metrorail system than cross the street in this city or any other city. I feel much safer, and I mean that honestly. The system is operating safely,” he says.
However, Metro still hasn’t corrected about 100 safety issues identified by federal and local oversight groups.
(Copyright 2010 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)