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June 22, 2009 - 10:45pm

Monday, June 22, 2009. WASHINGTON - A Metro train smashed into the back of another at the height of the Monday evening rush hour, killing at least six people and injuring scores of others as cars from the trailing train jackknifed into the air and fell atop the first.

One of the fatalities was a female train operator, Metro officials say. The woman's name has not been released.

D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin says more than 70 people were transported to hospitals. Of those, two people have life-threatening injuries and 50 are classified as "walking wounded" injuries.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says people who believe their loved ones were on the train can dial 311.

"It looks to be the worst Metro accident in D.C. history," D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty says.

Metro General Manager John Catoe says it appears one of the trains was stopped on the tracks awaiting permission to clear the station when another train came up behind it and slammed into the back of the train.

"I give my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives today," Catoe says. "This is an incredibly tragic event. We will get to the bottom and find out what happened."

Rubin says there are about 200-250 firefighters on the scene. The firefighters are working to clear each train car. Two D.C. firefighters were injured, but their injuries are minor, Rubin says.

Authorities have scheduled a news conference for 8 a.m. Tuesday.

D.C. Police are asking everyone to stay away from the scene. Police have closed New Hampshire Avenue from Eastern Avenue to North Capitol Street as authorities investigate.

Metro is advising that people avoid the Red Line for the rest of the night.

The Red Line will be closed between the Silver Spring and Rhode Island stations through the Tuesday morning rush hour. Riders should expect an hour delay on the Red Line Tuesday. All trains will be running manually on Tuesday according to Catoe.

Shuttle buses will operate between Silver Spring and Rhode Island Avenue stations. Metro buses can hold 50-60 people.

Other Red Line trains will run in manual mode and at reduced speeds.

Washington Hospital Center is treating seven of the injured people, WTOP's Kate Ryan reports.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now leading the investigation.

The six-car train derailed and then collided with another train on an elevated track between the Takoma Park and Fort Totten stations around 5 p.m. Monday, trapping dozens of passengers.

Each train had six cars and was capable of holding as many as 1,200 people.

Emergency crews from Montgomery, Prince George's, Fairfax and Arlington counties are responding, Rubin says. Officials are urging people to stay away from the scene.

The trains are "lodged on top of one another," D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Alan Etter says. Officials are preparing for a "mass casualty event," Etter says.

Rescue crews were using heavy duty equipment - including the jaws of life - to cut the train apart to rescue at least 100 people who were trapped, officials say. The extrication process appeared to be over just before 7 p.m.

Rescue workers propped steel ladders up to the upper train cars to help survivors escape. Seats from the smashed cars had spilled out onto the track.

WTOP's Hank Silverberg, who was on the scene, reports that four cars from one train are on top of the other train, with the front of the cars completely split open.

"It looks like a deck of cards falling on top of one another," Silverberg says. "It looks almost like the trains hit each other in a head-on collision."

The trains look like "a tangled roller coaster," reports WTOP's Patricia Guadalupe, who is on the scene.

"It looks like an accident at a roller coaster ride," Guadalupe reports.

Metro spokesperson Candace Smith calls the scene "terrible."

"One rail car is about a third of the way on top of another rail car," Smith says.

President Barack Obama sent his condolences to the victims of the crash.

"Michelle and I were saddened by the terrible accident in Northeast Washington D.C. today," Obama said in a statement issued Monday night. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends affected by this tragedy."

The president also thanked rescue personnel who helped to save lives.

At Howard University Hospital, Dr. Johnnie Ford, an emergency room doctor, said a 14-year-old girl suffered two broken legs in the accident. A 20-year-old male patient "looked like he had been tumbled around quite a bit, bumps and bruises from head to toe," Ford said.

Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said less than two hours after the crash that federal authorities had no indication of any terrorism connection.

"I don't know the reason for this accident," Metro's Catoe said. "I would still say the system is safe, but we've had an incident."

The train was headed toward the Shady Grove station at the time of the accident, which occurred near the Maryland-D.C. border and the New Hampshire Avenue overpass.

Metro trains typically run through the station around 44 miles per hour, Silverberg reports.

Officials would not say how fast the train was traveling at the time of the accident. The crash occurred in an area with a sizable distance between rail stations in which trains are allowed to travel at higher speeds, Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said.

The trains' devices that record operating speeds and commands are being turned over to the NTSB, Smith said.

MARC's Brunswick Line has been suspended for Tuesday because of the derailment. MARC says it is trying to arrange a bus bridge. The derailment has not affected the Penn or Camden lines.

Monday's incident was the second involving customer fatalities in Metro's 33-year history. In 1982, three people died after a train derailed between the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian stations.

In 2004, two Metro trains collided at the Woodley Park/Zoo-Adams Morgan station, resulting in some minor injuries.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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