Eight people have committed suicide by jumping into oncoming D.C. Metro trains this year, more than in previous years.
In addition to deaths by suicide, a June 22 crash between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metro stations killed eight passengers and one train operator, according to The Washington Post. Since the crash, another three Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority employees have died in on-the-job accidents, and one subcontractor was fatally electrocuted in a Metro bus garage.
WMATA is considering steps to prevent future suicides, such as launching a prevention program, said Bessy Guevara, a communications representative for WMATA.
“We currently are exploring a partnership with a regional coalition of suicide prevention organizations led by CrisisLink, which is out of Arlington, Va.,” Guevara said.
Marshall Ellis, the director of development for CrisisLink, said the organization is looking to launch a three-part suicide prevention program with Metro. The first part would be a public awareness campaign, which would make the public aware that help is available and suicide is not the answer.
The second part would be “Gate Keeper Training.”
“[Gate Keeper training is about] providing suicide prevention training to different groups of Metro employees so that they can be better able to recognize and respond to people that are displaying warning signs,” Ellis said.
The third part of the prevention plan would be a response component. If there were a fatal suicide attempt, CrisisLink would step in to help the driver and those who witnessed the suicide.
However, the suicide prevention program is not ready to be launched.
“At this point we have only had a few preliminary discussions with Crisis Link, and again, because it’s in the early stages, we don’t know when exactly this program is going to be initiated,” Guevara said.
The D.C. Metro system is not the only mass transit system to start a suicide prevention campaign. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has begun work with the Samaritans Suicide Prevention Program on behalf of the MBTA’s subway routes in Boston, Ellis said.
WMATA also provides services to help its employees cope with the aftermath of witnessing a suicide, according to Guevara. When a suicide involving a Metro train occurs, it can be a traumatic experience for the train’s driver, the Metro transit police and the clean-up crew.
“We also do have an employee assistance program,” Guevara said. “We do have licensed professionals to help frontline personnel.”
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