There was a second accident on the Metro Red Line in Washington this past weekend, less than a week from the first deadly accident, according to The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020203678.html
In the most recent crash 20 Metro workers were riding into a tunnel on a vehicle with a flatbed car attached to it. The work zone was near the Medical Center Station. The accident happened last Saturday, January 30.
The vehicle with the workers apparently hit some ice and sped out of control, hitting a pickup truck that was on the rails. That pickup truck then crashed into three vehicles, The Washington Post reported.
The newspaper questioned why accident wasn’t reported to the Metro’s safety office until 30 hours after it happened. The Washington Post said that under federal regulations, the Metro must notify the Tri-State Oversight Committee within two hours when there is a rail vehicle involved in any accident. The committee watches over Metro safety.
No injuries were reported in Saturday’s accident, but the man operating the vehicle that went out of control and a supervisor were given mandatory alcohol and drug tests.
On Jan. 26 there was another accident involving a so-called high-rail vehicle, which is a pickup truck on metal runners. In that accident, two Metro employees were struck and killed by a high-rail vehicle that was backing up on the Red Line, The Washington Post reported.