# WMATA: Man falls off escalator, dies, not found for 4 days



## Ryan (Jun 11, 2015)

http://wtop.com/dc/2015/06/family-mans-dead-body-went-unnoticed-at-metro-station-for-4-days/



> On Oct. 19, 2013, Okiemute Whiteru a 35-year-old Southeast D.C. resident was riding the escalator at the Judiciary Square Metro station when he lost his balance and fell over the side. While he was attempting to collect himself, he fell backward again, tumbling another 8 feet, according to court documents.
> 
> Whiteru died as a result of his injuries and his body wasnt found for more than four days, court documents say.


I just can't wrap my head around this one, it's so bizarre.


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## lo2e (Jun 11, 2015)

Looking purely at pictures of the "scene", it looks like there is a pretty narrow gap between the escalators and the side walls. Unfortunately I could easily see how something could be hidden down between the escalator frame and the wall without being seen.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jun 11, 2015)

And how do they know he lost his balance, tried to right himself & fell further down? Do they have surveillance camera footage showing what happened?


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 11, 2015)

AmtrakBlue said:


> And how do they know he lost his balance, tried to right himself & fell further down? Do they have surveillance camera footage showing what happened?







> Also, the lawsuit alleges that Metro employees knew of Whiteru’s fall — *which was captured on surveillance cameras* — and employees didn’t help him, leading to his “tragic, painful and untimely death.”


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 11, 2015)

Sad. Some of those Meteo escelators are extremely steep and dangerous, especially the Judiciary Square Station.

I'm surprised no-one saw him fall, this is usually a very busy station . And to be missing for 4 days is also strange, wonder if he didn't have a family or a job? Reminds one of the Beattle song "Eleanor Rigby".


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## AmtrakBlue (Jun 11, 2015)

Devil said:


> AmtrakBlue said:
> 
> 
> > And how do they know he lost his balance, tried to right himself & fell further down? Do they have surveillance camera footage showing what happened?







> Also, the lawsuit alleges that Metro employees knew of Whiteru’s fall — *which was captured on surveillance cameras* — and employees didn’t help him, leading to his “tragic, painful and untimely death.”


Thanks. I was too lazy to read the whole thing.


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## printman2000 (Jun 11, 2015)

jimhudson said:


> Sad. Some of those Meteo escelators are extremely steep and dangerous, especially the Judiciary Square Station.


Not sure I would call them "dangerous". Think how many people use them every day without incident.


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 11, 2015)

printman2000 said:


> jimhudson said:
> 
> 
> > Sad. Some of those Meteo escelators are extremely steep and dangerous, especially the Judiciary Square Station.
> ...


True, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a safety railing along side the high escelators, this seems like a design flaw to me, but I'm not an engineer.

The other problem is keeping them actually operating, even back in the day when I regularly rode the Metro there was a problem with maintence! WMATA has never been a properly run agency! (Just like most things in WAS)


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 11, 2015)

Information is scarce so far but my gut reaction is that this guy did it to himself. Seems more like a freak self inflicted accident rather than a legitimate payday to me.


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## Ryan (Jun 11, 2015)

Based on the limited info available, my gut says freak accident.

The legitimate payday is possible if it turns out that they guy didn't die right away and could have been saved had any of the station managers on duty done their job and noticed and injured/incapacitated passenger between the time that he fell and the time that he passed away.


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## Mystic River Dragon (Jun 11, 2015)

Not to be indelicate, but I would think that after a couple of days, a police dog would have noticed. Seems odd that his body wasn't found for so long.


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## CHamilton (Jun 11, 2015)

Escalator accidents are surprisingly common.


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## NorthShore (Jun 23, 2015)

Now my knee is hurting, reminded of my own escalator fall of fifteen years ago.


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