Metro GM struggles to comfort victims' families

WASHINGTON -- One week after the deadliest accident in Metro's history, the first-hand accounts of those who died are being told, and Metro's leader is trying to find the right words to offer the families some comfort.

"It is an incredibly difficult experience to go up and talk to family members about lives that were taken on our system," Metro General Manager John Catoe tells WTOP.

He says, in some cases, the victims' families do not want to talk to him.

"To be honest, there are no words I can say that will relieve their grief. The most difficult one for me was the daughter of the couple who lost their lives. Talking to her about her mother and father."

That couple was Maj. Gen. David Wherley and his wife Ann. Both were 62. Wherley was the commander of the D.C. National Guard.

"The response back was at least an appreciation that we made the contact," says Catoe.

Nine people died in the crash on the Red Line between Takoma and Fort Totten last Monday in Northeast.

Metro has been offering financial help to victims' families for their immediate needs.

In one case, the family of the operator who died, 42 year-old Jeanice McMillan, was given a check for $25,000.

Metro insists that this money is presented not as a financial settlement, but as assistance for expenses such as funeral arrangements.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)