GM CHIEF QUESTIONED IN DC SUBWAY CRASH

June 22 2009

Washington, D.C. – With 6 dead and score injured, Washington D.C. emergency officials are quickly trying the determine what went wrong in a collision between two trains late Monday afternoon. First reports indicate that one of trains was stopped on the tracks awaiting permission to clear the station when another train approached and
slammed into the back which caused the massive devastation and snarling rush hour traffic in one of the busiest cities in the United States. Though officials are still trying to rescue the injured, investigators have started to piece together how exactly the accident occurred by questioning witnesses and pursuing possible suspects.

One such suspect is the chairman of the board for GM who less than two weeks ago took on the unenviable position of trying to resurrect the bankrupt motor giant.
Edward Whitacre has already had an extensive discussion with transport officials in Michigan who indicated that the entire board, as well as those of fellow big three companies Chrysler and Ford, to determine what role if any the employees of the ailing car industry had in the disastrous accident that many see as a blow against public transportation.

“It looks to be the worst Metro accident in D.C. history,” said Mayor Adrian Fenty. “Our focus now is on the injured and their families. We will  do everything we can to help those affected by this tragedy and do everything we can to make sure the city gets up and running as soon as possible. I won’t comment on the investigation at this juncture but be sure that we will find what or who caused this accident and they will held to account.”

Metro officials have been employing shuttle buses to transport uninjured survivors from the wreck. NTSB and metro investigators have made no comment on the questioning in Detroit.

“Logically there is one group more than anyone who would benefit from a lack of faith in the public transportation system. That of course would be the automobile industry which has to do whatever they can to get people driving again. No one person in the industry is more determined and under more pressure than Whitacre who is charged with bringing back the big daddy of American car manufacturers back from the dead,” said Scrape TV Business analyst Ken Green. “That of course makes him the prime suspect and the most sensible person to question. True only four people have died and if all the people on those two trains drove every day there is a good chance that more would perish, but big events like these scare people beyond the capacity for logic and could be just the thing the car industry needs to pull them out of their financial stupor.”

The idea that the accident was in fact just that is also being investigated but many are hoping to peg the blame on some act of terrorism, domestic or otherwise.

“Of course they may be questioning those executives in order to eliminate them as suspects. It does the Obama administration no good if their new hire turns out to be a mass murderer and terrorist plotter, but of course that would be advantageous to the opposition, so that brings a whole new suspect into the mix. What if Republicans set up GM to look like the culprit? What if GM set up the Republicans to look like they set up GM? The possibilities are endless,” continued Green. “Regardless of the reasons the situation does display the inherent difficulties related to mass transit. When it goes down it affects all kinds of people not just a handful and that may the biggest argument against it and ultimately could hinder its acceptance by the American public.”

To that point, dozens of people travelling in and out of the city have had significant delays since the accident. Transit officials are pointing to the fact that a Washington Nationals games is being played tonight as the main reason traffic is not worse.

“Anytime the Nationals play the city is a ghost town. Everyone expects the city to be packed but no one ever goes to the games so we end up with very few people coming into the city. I never thought I’d say this, but God bless the Nationals,” said Metro General Manager John Catoe.

The Nationals are expected to lose to the Red Sox tonight. GM officials deny involvement in the crash but stated that car travel is still the safest mode of transportation.

Mike Michaels, American Correspondent

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