Metro News Release
For immediate release: February 18, 2007
Region focuses on pedestrian safety after woman fatally struck by bus
A Washington, DC, woman was fatally struck by a Metrobus last night, Saturday, February 17.
Twenty-one-year-old Angel C. Walters was exiting the rear driver’s side of a vehicle along the 1300 block of Congress Street, SE, with packages in her arms when she was struck at 11:10 p.m. by Metrobus 3941, which was operating the W2 route northbound on Congress Street headed in the direction of Washington Overlook. There were no passengers on board at the time of the incident.
“We need to move with a sense of urgency to do all we can do to prevent these accidents. That includes training and educating the public,” said Metro Board member and DC Councilman Marion Barry, who noted that the W2 stops in front of his home.
“We’re all working together to find out how we can reduce fatalities and other injuries. We are committed as a group,” said District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty.
“Metro, the District Department of Transportation, the police department and the Mayor’s office are looking at how the city can be safer,” said Jim Graham, Metro Board member and a DC Councilman. “We’ll go over dangerous intersections and will do what we can to make them safer.”
Metro Board Member and District of Columbia Department of Transportation Director Emeka Moneme said the city is working on a master pedestrian plan to make the city safer. The three major elements of the plan include engineering, enforcement of traffic and pedestrian safety laws, and educating people about what they can do to be safe. “We need drivers and pedestrians to be partners,” he said.
“The management of Metro, its employees and labor unions are all working together with the city and regional partners to improve safety,” said Metro Board Chairman Charles Deegan.
“The condolences of the entire Metro family go out to the family of Ms. Walters,” said John Catoe, Metro’s General Manager, who launched an aggressive pedestrian safety focus last week. “Our buses travel 1 million miles a week on the roads and safety has to be our number one focus.”
The bus operator involved in last night’s incident has been a Metrobus driver since December 2005, and was put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of routine drug and alcohol testing. He was not charged in the incident. The Metropolitan (DC) Police Department Major Crash Unit is continuing the accident investigation.
Saturday night’s accident was the third fatal Metrobus/pedestrian accident and fourth death this year. On February 14, a Metrobus fatally struck two Alexandria women at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Seventh Street, NW, and on January 16, a District of Columbia resident was fatally injured when she was struck by a Metrobus at 16th Street and Park Road, NW.
Since arriving at Metro three weeks ago, Catoe has insisted that safety is his top priority. His first week on the job he announced that he wanted to institute a five-year safety initiative that would improve safety and cut down on accidents. The Metro Board approved his plan last Thursday.
After the February 14 double fatality, he launched a more aggressive emphasis on pedestrian safety within hours. By morning, Metrobus supervisors were meeting face-to-face, one-on-one and in group sessions with bus operators to re-emphasize the requirement to wait for and yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. Posters with similar reminders were placed at all bus facilities, and an official notice to bus operators was drafted that emphasized pedestrian safety issues. Additionally, Metro will require all of its bus operators to participate in a minimum one- to two-day retraining effort that emphasizes pedestrian safety. Planning for those training sessions began last week.
News release issued at 12:00 am, February 18, 2007.