The Metrorail operator arrested for driving intoxicated last year had been behind the wheel of a Blue Line train for hours.
There were numerous indications something might be wrong, even before the train sat idle between the Van Dorn and Franconia-Springfield Metro stations for 40 minutes as stranded passengers dialed 911.
The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission released new details about the Dec. 23, 2022, incident on Tuesday, describing how the operator in question had worked a split shift that day, clocking in for the first time at about 9:30 a.m. The investigation notes he spent most of his time in his car, and then left for about an hour and a half to pick up a cake for a work party.
After leaving his shift at a rail yard, the driver was supposed to clock in at Huntington Station just before 5:30 p.m. Video showed him arriving there nearly two-and-a-half hours later, and within 20 minutes, he was on board a train.
His fitness for duty was never assessed before he started the second half of his shift. The report says the unnamed operator took over a Blue Line train at King Street Station en route to Largo, while a supervisor was on board with him.
“The rail supervisor remained on the train to Stadium-Armory Station,” said Natalie Quiroz, an investigations analyst with the safety commission who went over the investigation at Tuesday’s meeting.
Quiroz said the train stopped short of the end of the platform at several stations.
“This included stopping 32 feet short at Potomac Avenue and 28 feet short at Capitol South, each while the rail supervisor was still on the train,” she said. “This was a six-car train, so this deviation from safety procedures did not lead to any doors opening off the rear of the platform.”
An hour after boarding the train, he steered it into the Downtown Largo Station and briefly went inside a break room before going back to take the train to the Franconia-Springfield stop.
“CCTV shows the operator displaying signs of impairment, to the train operator swaying and not walking in a straight line,” as he walked along the Downtown Largo platform, said Quiroz.
As the train moved through the city, Quiroz said the driving grew more erratic.
“At Eastern Market Station, the train stopped 46 feet short of the required stopping location at the end of the station platform,” said Quiroz. “This is about two-thirds of a car length short of a car marker.”
He also entered Braddock Road Station slowly, just barely not stopping short.
“At King Street Station, the train operator operated the doors without looking out the window as required to ensure that it was safe to do so,” she said.
At Van Dorn, the train overshot the platform by two rail cars, stopped for about three seconds, and then kept going without ever opening the doors. About a mile down the tracks, the train came to a stop and wouldn’t move again for about 40 minutes.
The operator also never answered radio communications. Eventually, another train was instructed to find out what was going on and offload the 18 passengers onboard. Instead, the operator woke up, and finished the trip to Franconia-Springfield at 11:20 p.m.
“At Franconia Springfield, the train operator opened the doors on the correct side of the train, closed the doors 12 seconds later, then reversed and prepared to operate back toward Downtown Largo,” said Quiroz.
“Metro Transit Police Department and other Metrorail personnel ran down the platform to stop the operator. Metrorail personnel identified that the operator showed signs of intoxication,” and he was arrested.
At the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, Quiroz said the operator failed sobriety tests. A breath test recorded a .081 blood alcohol content level and the operator was later fired.
Employees who were with the operator earlier that night said he showed no signs of impairment. Since then, WMATA began implementing a procedure to determine an employee’s fitness for duty when they show up for the second half of a split shift.
“I’m still trying to digest how a train could stop for 40 minutes in the system without creating significant disruption to the system,” said commission chair Chris Hart. “Plus, having a bunch of 911 calls from a bunch of stranded passengers. I don’t understand how … 40 minutes is a long time to be sitting on a train without any work from the operator.”
Quiroz said it was noticed that the train had stopped after about 10 minutes. Another train was supposed to go past and blare its horn and take medical personnel to the train.
“That’s when the train operator woke up and started moving the train on their own,” said Quiroz.
“The supervisor might need to go for some additional training as well,” said Debra Farrar-Dyke, the secretary-treasurer of the commission. “They didn’t even notice certain signs. If they didn’t even notice certain signs when the person was late, who said they were in the yard and they really weren’t in the yard, that should have been some triggers.”
The commission also expressed concerns that the operator might get their job back with Metro, saying it was paying attention as that post-termination process plays out.
“When issues are identified, Metro conducts a thorough investigation and appropriate actions are taken,” WMATA said in a statement provided to WTOP. “The represented employee is not currently employed by Metro.”
