Daughter of Woman Killed in 2009 Metro Crash Seeks Help After Kitchen Explosion

After the worst crash in Metro’s history killed nine people, including Maryland mother of six Ana Fernandez, Fernandez's daughter Evelyn was left to raise her siblings and niece.

Now, Evelyn Fernandez needs help after a kitchen explosion left her hospitalized with serious burns. 

Fernandez’s upper body caught on fire, resulting in second- and third-degree burns that recently sent her to the ICU, a GoFundMe page created for her says.

“This accident has resulted in a lot of pending expenses ... but with your help we can help the Fernandez family overcome such a tragic obstacle,” the page says.

The fundraising page created Tuesday has raised almost $4,000 toward the $15,000 goal, as of Thursday afternoon.

Fernandez lost her mother after the six-car Red Line train she was riding on June 22, 2009 slammed into a waiting train near the Fort Totten station. Nine people died and 80 people were injured. About 200 emergency crews from across the area responded.

Ana Fernandez, who immigrated from El Salvador when she was 19, worked cleaning offices in D.C. and had been headed to work when the train crashed, The Washington Post reported

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Then-D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty called the crash an “unbelievable nightmare.”

A year after the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board announced the train’s control system had failed to detect the presence of a waiting train, causing it to slam into the train in front of it. 

A memorial honoring the nine victims of the crash opened in June at the corner of New Hampshire and North Dakota avenues NE, near the site of the crash.

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