The man killed by a Metro Orange Line train Monday afternoon was Victor Zoubak, 18, of Germantown, according to transit police and a relative.
Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said yesterday that the transit agency is continuing to investigate the incident, which occurred about 2 p.m. at Metro Center, and has not received the results of an autopsy. She said the investigation "indicates that the individual came down onto the platform, walked across the platform and onto the track bed, where he remained when the train pulled into the station."
Metro riders kept from Metro Center went to Farragut West, above, and other stations on Monday to catch a train.
(Rich Lipski -- The Washington Post)
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That account is consistent with eyewitness reports.
The accident stopped service on the Blue and Orange lines between the Farragut West and Federal Triangle stations for three hours, forcing passengers into a biting cold while they waited for shuttle buses to take them to stops farther along their lines.
Zoubak's sister said yesterday that he suffered from a medical condition that occasionally caused him to lose consciousness.
Ekaterina Zoubak declined to specify the nature of his condition but speculated that it was a factor in his death.
"His medical condition was such that he would lose consciousness for brief periods of time," she said, adding that it was severe enough that her brother had stopped driving for fear of causing an accident. "My theory is he stepped onto the train tracks and was not aware of where he was and what he was doing."
She said her brother was on his way to see their father, who was to accompany him to a doctor's office. Her family moved to the area from Ukraine seven years ago, she said. Her brother worked in a law firm and planned to go to college next fall.
"He was just a normal 18-year-old," Zoubak said. "He was very attached to his family, and he was very attached to me."
Zoubak said she last saw Victor on Sunday night at her college graduation party, which she said he spent all weekend helping to set up. "He was a very kind person, very family-oriented," she said.
"He was very responsible, a very good person," she continued. "It's a horrible loss. He was only 18 years old, and he had a lot of aspirations."
