“Intro the Dark with Metro”

On Monday, the Washington DC Metro system suffered its most serious crash in its 33 year history. At least 9 people are confirmed dead, and 76 injured. Some are in critical condition, and are fighting for life. A fire official said more victims are entombed in the train. One person critically injured is a 14 year old girl who broke both legs. A woman, seven months pregnant, is also among the injured. A Priest was on board one of the cars in the moving train, which ran into the back of a standing train. He led prayers and tried to help the injured. Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board minced no words. They called some of the Metro trains, “coffin cars.” They had made upgrade, retrofitting recommendations years ago, which were not followed. Some of the cars were not safe enough to protect in a crash. The car which was hit was torn open and collapsed into one fourth its size. Survivors pounded on windows and took desperate measures to get out. Others were pinned under wreckage, and had to be cut out of the wreck. The train which was in motion ended up on top of the wrecked car.

Metro is the main transportation system in the nations capitol. Millions of people use it each day. They include regular workers and tourists. Many of us are not as familiar with the Metro as we should be, and did not know all the problems. Last week, my arm got caught in the Metro door – I was shocked it did not function like an elevator door and re-open. I was grateful some strong passenger inside pried open the door. If not, I might have been dragged off! Monday nights accident took place at the heart of the rush hour. Our train was stuck for about two hours in a dark tunnel. Electricity was off, and it got very hot. We were packed together, with standing room only. Cell phones did not work, and we could not get out the doors – even if we wanted to. We were concerned about terrorist attacks, or an accident, but did not know what was happening. Washington traffic is now heavier than usual, and parking is at a premium. Metro continues to run, with significant delays. With the summer tourism season at its height here, there should be challenging times ahead. Connie Lawn in Washington

Connie Lawn has a passionate love for NZ. She worked for Radio New Zealand for 20 years, and then for Radio Live for a few years. Connie has covered the White House and the world since 1968. Her other passion is skiing, and she calls herself "the skiing White House reporter." Her ski stories are on dcski.com and other outlets. Connie is also heard on thousands of radio stations, but firmly believes the internet is the future. She can be reached at connie@scoop.co.nz

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