debbie hersman lives with her family inedriarer h mshedarear sweetheart. he took her to the prom. they both went to virginia tech. and when she goes to a crash site, he watches over the family. >> there's one thing i did right in life. that's when i married well. my husband is fantastic. >> reporter: today we talked to chairman hersmanbout some issues. the biggest travel danger. >> really the biggest danger that faces most americans every day is getting in your car and driving on the highways. we lose 443,000 people every year on our nation's highways. >> reporter: metro safety. do you feel safe riding metro? >> i continue to ride metro. i ride metro regularly. i do several times a week. i ride metro to get around in town. and a number of people with the safety board ride metro. so we all would like to see metro be as safe a ist possibly can be. >> reporter: debbie hersman's car. >> i actually drive a honda hybrid, the civic. i got it in 2002, the first year that they came out with that model of hybrid. and it is a fantastic car. gets really good gas mileage. >> reporter: debbie h

debbie hersman was the face of that investigation. like many members of the ntsb who live here and often ride metro, she says this one hits home. >> i have had the opportunity to meet with some of the families. just knowing the devastating impact that has gone on in the lives of parents and children, people who were loved very much. >> within minutes, debbie hersman was driving to the crash site from downtown office. she quickly became the of calm strong voice of the june 22 crash. sometimes at odds with local leaders. >> we need to be able to work towards a fleet with others, but we also need to be theruth tellers -- able to work cooperatively with others. >> we caught her moving into her new office as chairman of the ntsb. >> memories of 2006. >> she has been a board member for five years, but at 39, she is one of the youngest chairman ever. she says being the mother of three young boys keep sir focused on victims and families when tragedy strikes. as for metro, she vows this investigation will get to the bottom of metro's problems,

. >> today, debbie hersman from the national transportation safety board declined to comment about the crash but said the investigation is expected to take months. >>> the man involved in the shooting in the pennsylvania health club was already on the police radar. he was searched and let go by police a week before the shooting. he was questioned about a grenade on a bus. but the witness could not identify sodini about the gun. >>> the senate's second-raging democrat is slamming recent town hall protests over health care. dick durbin of illinois says the meetings like this one in austin, texas have been orchestrated and violate the process. but the colleagues is breaking with the rank and file. it was a huge mistake to suggest that anyone opposed to the health care plan is manufactured. it's not manufactured now. i think both sides are organizing. i want everybody to take a deep break and realize that -- i mean, this horse is not out of the barn around heading to the finish. >> she's using town hall forums to educate her constituents and put rumors to rest about the plan. >>> hbo airs

we'll speak with debbie hersman of the national transportation safety board in our 6:00 p.m.ns we have for her. thanks very much, susan candiotti. >>> back to chad myers, following the breaking news, two, not one, but two earthquakes within the past few months. what do we know, chad? >> one was a 7.6 not far from where that huge earthquake was that caused the huge tsunami in 2004 and one not far from tokyo, about 100 miles from tokyo, both happening within 12 minutes of each other. i still believe they are completely unrelated. this would be myanmar, this india. a tsunami watch has been issued for this ocean area as that 7.6 struck at about 20 miles deep. that could be shallow enough to push the ocean floor just enough to make a tsunami. also now back closer to basically japan right off the shore about 100 miles from tokyo, there was a 6.4 right there. and there is a tsunami advisory nearly a warning, a little stepped up from the watch there, but they expect that tsunami might only be a foot and a half, wolf. so, that would be a way that if you're right onshore you could be i

we asked ntsb chairman debbie hersman to watch t british psa. >> i think it was very graphic. think it was very frightening. but, unfortunately, we see that with 40,000 fatalities every year. those are people that don't come home. >> reporter: 17 states and d.c. now ban texting while driving. seven states ban hand-held cell phones. next month the transportation department will hold a summit to deal with all forms of distracted drivers. >> we all know texting while drive sing dangerous. i promise you we are going do something about it. >> reporter: meanwhile, american parents are now turning to a british public service announcement to make an impression on american teens. couple of points here. to begin with, you heard hersman cite the 40,000 people that die every year. she's talking about total numbers of a highways and roads and insurance institute for highway safety thinks about a quarter of those are the result of distracted driving. all types of distracted driving. jim, this video is so graphic, as graphic as what you saw is, it is much more in its entirety. anybody can wa

joining us now is debbie hersman, chairman of the national transportation safety board. miss hersman, good morning. >> good morning, harry. >> one of the papers here in new york this morning, a fellow helicopter pilot described what happened on saturday as almost inevitable. is there too much traffic or unregulated traffic over the hudson river? >> well, we know that there is a lot of traffic over the hudson river, and i think that we're going to have to take a look at that as part of our investigation. we don't know all of the facts with respect to this accident investigation at this point in time. that's why we're here. we've got to develop those. we've only been here a day. and so we won't be reaching any conclusions at this early stage of the investigation. >> is there some surprise, though, because the helicopter pilot had unbelievable amounts of experience, was even trained as a trainer or was capable of training other pilots. the single engine plane pilot had lots of experience. in theory, these things -- these people shouldn't be colliding in midair. >> well, unf

. >> ntsb chairman debbie hersman heading the press conference, briefing in hoboken, new jersey. there was an off-duty pilot at 34th street heliport who happened to look up, 30th street, i should say, 30th street heliport and saw the plane approaching. i want to bring in john wily, an aviation expert, a pilot here. she said that the pilot radioed the off-duty pilot on the ground refuel, radioed the helicopter and said you've got a fixed wing coming up on you. what does that say to you? >> well the thing that surprised me is that they said that the right wing struck the helicopter first. so if you've got the helicopter here, this airplane is coming up, i originally thought it was going to be the left wing. but with the airplane coming up in this position here, striking the right wing, separating the right wing, taking the rotor off of the helicopter, the guy in the fixed wing probably never saw the helicopter, he's coming up from behind the helicopter. his friend tried to radio and call him. the guy in the helicopter didn't see him either. see and avoid, you can't avoid what you d

some including debbie hersman, chairman of the ntsb, think it helps teach american teens a valuable lesson. >>hen i saw this video, i thought it was very powerful. i think that this is exactly the real world kind of scenario that we see when somebody is distractioned, whether it is texting or on a cell phone. i think it was very graphic and i think it was frightening. unfortunately, we so that with 40,000 fatalities every year. those are people who don't come home. that's a lesson that's all too real for those people involved in those accidents. >> reporter: officials in the u.s. are also cracking down on texting while driving. 17 states and district of columbia have already made it illegal and a nationwide ban to soon be on the way. in the district, megan mcgrath, news4. >> it is powerful and something that you won't forget. that's going to do it for "news4 at 5:00." we thank you for watching. coming up, ben bernanke gets a nod for his second term as fed chairman. wendy joins jim vance next for "news4 at 6:00." >>> f

. >> coming up at 6:00, debbie hersman on travel dangers. on metro safety and the car that she drives. wendy, i will see you at 6:00. >> pat collins. thanks, pat. >>> service back to normal on the orange line after a man was hit and killed by a metro train this morning. this happened at the west falls church station. the six-car train was heading towards new carrollton on the orange line. investigators say the man was intentionally standing on the tracks when hit. trains were single tracked for part of the day. full service has resumed. >>> it has been 13 years since alexandria resident bell was murdered. today there was another search for her remains. bell's parents were digging in a wooded area on old fort road in prince george's county. herself-confessed killer claims to have buried bell's body there. crews with backhoes were digging deep in the area with mixed emotions. her stepfather said he's now more hopeful about the prospects of finding something. >> it is going to be sad. see them pull her out of the ground. the cloesh or and grave

. >> debbie hersman thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> thank you. >>> three americans iraqi foreign minister is coming to their defense. will his support be enough to get them released? we'll find out. 18 1/2 minutes after the hour. well, the price went down, so you're all getting a check thanks. for the difference. except for you -- you didn't book with orbitz, so you're not getting a check. well, i think we've all learned a valuable lesson today. good day, gentlemen. thanks a lot. thank you. introducing hotel price assurance, where if another orbitz customer books the same hotel for less, we send you a check for the difference, automatically. (music plays) when you think about all you can do in an all-wheel-drive subaru... you'll find there is a lot to love. that's why we created the subaru a lot to love event. where you can get a great deal on any new 2009 subaru. and see theee really is a lot to love. hurry in and lease a 2009 impreza for $179 ppr month. now through august 31st. >>> welcome back to most news in the morning. more american families waiting for word a