Metro Crash Victims Remembered at Wreath-Laying

A silver bell rang Wednesday as the names of each of the victims of the multiple-fatal June 22, 2009, Metrorail crash was read. Families spoke emotionally. The six children of Ana Fernandez, weearing T-shirts bearing their mother's picture,  brought many to tears.

“I still can’t believe it because I didn’t have a chance to see her,” Evelyn Fernandez said. “It was a closed casket.”

Nine people died in the crash two years ago, and dozens more were injured.

Wednesday morning, the Metro Transit Police Honor Guard led a procession of the victims’ families to the Fort Totten Station for the laying of a wreath next to the plaque remembering the victims.

Carolyn Jenkins held up a picture of her daughter, Veronica Dubose, the way she last saw her -- with a name tag on her dead body. Dubose left two small children.

“It was hard trying to move on when this crash happened to my mother,” said her son Raja Williams.

Some families said Metro provided some money early on, but with a lawsuit pending, Metro is doing nothing to provide for victims' children.

“Metro’s not doing anything for the kids,” Jenkins said. “I struggle very hard for my grandkids to have toys, whatever they need at Christmas, to show them that Mommy is still thinking about you.”

Some victims want a plaque mounted on a bridge near the scene of the crash. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said that would be done and a park in Takoma would be dedicated to the families affected by the crash.

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