WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The Washington Metro declared a "safety stand-down" for its employees Monday after a maintenance employee was run over and killed by a machine.
The death Sunday night was the second fatal accident on the system in less than two months. Nine people died and 80 hurt June 22 when a moving train rammed a stationary one.
General Manager John B. Catoe said the stand-down included the suspension of maintenance work while employees who work on the tracks were given additional safety training, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Inspections were also stepped up.
"Something obviously went terribly wrong," Catoe said of the most recent accident.
Michael Nash, 63, who had been with Metro for almost 20 years, was working with a crew of 10 to 15 people on a section of track in Virginia when he was hit by a machine called a ballast regulator. The machine rides on the rails spreading stones on the rail bed.
