Woman Struck by Metrobus In District

Exiting Passenger Is Hit By a Second Bus And Critically Injured

A woman was struck by a Metrobus and critically injured Monday night in the Trinidad area of Northeast Washington, authorities said.

The woman, who was not identified, was taken to Washington Hospital Center with life-threatening injuries, a Metro spokesman said.

Although full details of the incident were not known, it occurred at a time of heightened concern about safety on Metro's bus and rail systems.

In Monday's incident, the woman had just gotten off the D-8 Metrobus on Mount Olivet Road NE, between Trinidad and Montello avenues. She apparently crossed in front of that bus and then was struck about 6:30 p.m. by another Metrobus traveling in the same direction, Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said.

Two men who said they witnessed the incident told television stations that the woman was thrown a distance down the street, and appeared to be unconscious after being struck. One of the men said that after the woman was hit, the driver of one of the buses "got down" and prayed.

On-air pictures taken after the incident showed several items in the road, including a jacket, a purse and a pair of red shoes. People who saw the woman said she appeared to be in her 40s or 50s.

D.C. police and the transit agency were investigating the incident, Taubenkibel said. The driver of the second bus will be suspended pending the outcome of drug and alcohol tests, as is routine in such cases, he said.

The driver, who was not identified, has been employed by Metro since March 2008, Taubenkibel said.

It was not clear Monday night where the injured woman was going or where she was coming from, and it was not immediately known whether there was a crosswalk at the site.

The D-8 route runs between Union Station and medical facilities in the Washington Hospital Center area.

During the evening rush hour, some of the buses end their routes at the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metro rail station. The woman had been on one of those buses. The bus that struck her was apparently headed toward the usual end of the line.

The section of the city where Monday's incident occurred is near Mount Olivet Cemetery and the northeastern edge of Gallaudet University.