A Pennsylvania family visiting D.C. for spring break had a hair-raising trip on Metro Thursday.
Kyle Pirnat was returning to his hotel with his wife and four children after visiting the National Zoo when there was announcement that the Red Line train they were riding was going out of service about 5:20 p.m. and everyone should get off at the Farragut North station.
Pirnat’s oldest child, an 11-year-old boy, managed to get onto the packed platform, but the rest of family, including a child in a stroller, could not before the doors closed, Pirnat said.
“Ultimately, I thought that the other side door was going to open, so I thought I was in good position, but it turns out I was on the wrong side,” Pirnat said.
Another rider, who also was unable to get off the train, pressed the red emergency button for help.
“They were not helpful at all,” Pirnat said. “They just basically told him that the doors were not going to open and they had to proceed,” Pirnat said.
A Metro spokesman told News4 that because it was rush hour, the train would have likely been ordered to advance several stations to ease congestion behind it.
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At the time, neither the Pirnats nor the other rider knew why the train wasn't stopping, so when the train stopped at the next station but the doors didn’t open, Kyle Pirnat, a former Marine, quite literally took matters into his own hands, prying open the doors.
“I went to the doors and I started pulling the doors apart,” he said. “And I was able to get the doors open a few inches – I don’t know exactly how many – and stick my foot in between them so that they were open.”
When they finally switched trains and made it back to Farragut North, they were reunited with the 11-year-old, who was being looked after by a stranger.
This time of year, there are often several incidents a day where kids become separated from their parents, so it's good to make a plan in advance in case that happens.
