UPDATED 12:30 PM: - The death toll is now back up to nine in Monday's collision of two Metro trains near the Red Line stop of Fort Totten in NE Washington, D.C. District Mayor Adrian Fenty had announced a death toll of seven Tuesday morning only for the Metro general manager to again confirm a toll of nine just an hour and a half later.
The Washington Post reported that media outlets had originally been informed late Monday of nine deaths by D.C. Fire & Metro sources before the claim was retracted.
In his earlier announcement, Fenty conceded the possibility that the death toll could rise still further (which it has already) over the course of the day but hopes to have a final count to announce at 5 p.m. The death toll includes the operator of one of the trains, identified as Jeanice McMillan of Springfield, Virginia.
The operator of the struck train will be interviewed as part of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation. The NTSB may find its progress hampered by the fact that the striking train was an older vehicle, one not retrofitted to contain the data recorders common to newer models.
______________________Labels: d.c. metro, fort totten, metro, northeast d.c., red line, transportation, washington d.c.
