MAYOR: DEADLIEST CRASH IN METRO HISTORY

A horrible subway collision along the Washington, DC Metro system left nine dead Monday and dozens injured.

The incident occurred at 5:02 p.m. when a fast-moving train slammed into a parked train at the Fort Totten Metro station.

While rescue workers struggled through the night to pull the wreckage apart from what Mayor Adrian Fenty called the deadliest collision in the subway system’s 33-year history.

Fenty suggested the moving train may have been traveling too fast when it hit the stationary one.

The rear car of the lead train compressed like an accordion before leapfrogging on top of it on an above-ground portion of track on the heavily-used Red Line.

“It was going at a speed that would have made that initial car literally compress to about one-fourth of the original size,” Fenty told CNN, strongly hinting the toll could rise.

“We have to go in (to the compressed rear car) and find out if there’s any remaining bodies.” [AFP]

I remember being in Washington on Election Day 2004 when another collision happened. Thankfully, no one was killed during that wreck, but I was certainly nervous riding the Metro from that point on.

I was hopeful, however, that Washington officials would take every measure necessary to ensure it never happened again. Sadly, that apparently wasn’t the case.

Photo: AP