Metro officials released new details about the incident and also confirmed that the elevator was working properly when the man opted to use the escalator instead.
The wide-ranging report is largely focused on systemic infrastructure and financial issues, but also includes advice on how the transit agency can better brace against negativity on social media.
Metro said the man, who was in a motorized wheelchair, had nearly reached the top of the escalator when he tumbled backward in the chair and fell to the bottom. The station's elevators were working, but video shows the man decided not to wait, a spokeswoman said.
Metro general manager: “How do we ever change this thing if . . . we slip back to where we are?”
The workers, and the union representing them, have long argued that the firings were unfair, and that the track inspectors were performing their work as instructed by managers.
But some government agencies have concerns that historical blueprints pose a security risk.
“This sends the wrong message at the wrong time,” Metro board member Malcolm Augustine said.
An arbitration board’s decision last month requires Metro to provide $82 million in pay increases to members of ATU Local 689 by summer 2020, with some of that money going toward retroactive pay raises.
‘From the tiniest, softest whispers to the grandest of all sounds, it’s all there. It’s a thrill.’
What transpired on Sunday was not a "private train," per se, but it wasn't completely public, either.