Graham On Metro Crash: ‘There Are Probably Going To Be Significant Legal Actions’
Councilmember Jim Graham, who is chairman of the Metro Board, just called in to report a few things to City Desk regarding yesterday's Metro crash. Graham mentioned that the board's $250,000 relief fund for the Metro crash victims' families. He emphasized that this is not hush money.
"We wanted to have this immediately," Graham explains. "We know there are probably going to be significant legal actions."
Graham says that one of the inspirations for the relief fund came from the circumstances involving one of the victims---Ana Fernandez, who left behind six children. The Examiner notes that she lived in Hyattsville and had resided in the area for the past 10 years. She worked evenings as a part-time housekeeper. Graham says: "We don't know how many more are like that. Those needs came to my attention today....And now there's emergency relief."
Graham says that reps from El Salvador's embassy have reached out to the Fernandez family as has Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.
Graham says the issues with the aging train cars has been a longstanding issue. "We have talked about it repeatedly," he explains. "This is a significant number of cars. Within the next two days, we're going to be talking about more of our options. We also have a regular board meeting [on] Thursday."
Photo by Darrow Montgomery
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Linked From: June 24th, 2009Metro Crash Victim’s Family Is Receiving Hate Messages - City Desk - Washington City Paper
6:01 pm[...] Fernandez’s family had been the focus of a lot of official sympathy. Yesterday, Councilmember Jim Graham, who is the chairman of the Metro Board, said he had her family in mind when he pushed for a $250,000 emergency relief fund. [...]
8:23 pm
Cherkis,
You are an idiot
9:13 pm
Of course there will be legal actions. There are many folks, like me, who frantically called family members to make sure they weren't on those trains. I was fortunate ... my family was safe. Others were not as lucky. Understand, however, that wmata will claim that they're immune from legal claims. That sickens me.
12:05 pm
Greg,
You're a pickle puffer.
12:08 pm
That Cherkis is not Cherkis. What's a pickle puffer?
12:15 pm
Pickle Puffer - one who smokes vinegarized cucumbers.