UPDATE 5:19 p.m. WMATA spokesperson Ron Holzer now says that this report isn’t totally accurate. Holzer says that the two operators were “taken out of service” for routine drug and alcohol testing, which is standard procedure after an incident of this magnitude. The employees were apparently never suspended or put on leave, according to Holzer, despite what the transit agency told the Washington Post earlier today.
“Our review concluded that they conducted themselves in accordance with our practices and procedures. Both employees are already back to work,” Holzer wrote in an email.
Also, the Post has ID’d the man who died as Rickey Jay Van Houter, 52, of Rockville. “His family confirmed Wednesday that he left home headed to his job as a computer programmer for a government contractor. His wife, Ilene, told the Post that Mr. Van Houter had been up late the night before working on a project, which delayed his morning commute.”
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The Washington Post is reporting that WMATA has suspended two Metrorail operators following the discovery of a dead body on a rail car Monday at the Shady Grove station.
Metro officials confirm that the two operators, whose names have not been released, have been placed on administrative leave while the transit agency investigates why the man was not discovered for five hours after he originally boarded.
The Post further reports that Metro is instituting new requirements for walk-throughs of every rail car that is brought into a rail yard at the end of a line. In a press release Tuesday night, WMATA acknowledged that an operator tasked with moving the train to the Shady Grove Rail Yard did not spot the man during a standard visual inspection.
The two individuals placed on leave include the operator of the train, and the person who moved the train into the rail yard.
Preliminary findings suggest the man died of natural causes. Metro believes the man boarded an inbound train at Twinbrook at about 10:15 a.m. on Monday. He was not discovered until 3:30 p.m. The man’s identity has not been released.
