metro did issue a statement later on and said basically they welcomed ntsb's recommendations. they have begun to fully address them. if you want to read that full statement, check out our app. it's on there. debra alfarone, wusa9. >> and the courthouse metro -- >>> and the courthouse metro stop in arlington is open again following a small tunnel fire in the station around 2:00 this afternoon. it forced single tracking on the orange and silver lines for a while. no one was hurt. >>> talk about your computer conundrum with possibly deadly consequences, what triggered this chain reaction crash involving 100 cars? that's up next. >> and a disturbing look into the local sex trade, young woman forced into prostitution by vicious sex trafficking >>> the united states, britain and france are shutting down their embassies in yemen after shiite rebounds seized control of that country. >> this marks the fourth anniversary of toppling its long time autocratic leader. rebels seized u.s. embassy vehicles and weapons after the diplomats left the country today. british citizens are urged to g

but the ntsb is on their way here.igators trying to determine exactly what happened whether it was human error or whether it was some sort of a signal error. there's a lot of ice in this area over the last couple of days the tracks have been icy. the signals have been freezing they're going to look at all of that. we do expect an ntsb presser within the next couple of minutes. and then at 8:00 we're expecting an additional press conference by one of the county executives here in westchester. to get more details as to what they know about why this happened. chris? deb, thank you very much. >> let's go to mary sciavo our cnn aviation lifrt and former inspector general for the u.s. department of transportation. you heard what metro north officials are saying this is the deadliest accident in their history. and we know that the ntsb has cited metro north as one of their biggest safety concerns. >> that's right. in a report issued last week of their top ten most wanted safety issues rail safety passenger rail safety is amon

all carefully stored in a basement of ntsb's headquarters at l'enfant plaza. the very metro stop where the accident occurred. riders say they have no choice but to use metro while the investigation continues. >> it's very disturbing to me. i'm very nervous. and try not to think about it. >> a preliminary ntsb report issued in days after is so-called arcing as the source of the fire. investigators want to know why these sparked all through the third rail tunnel. it came where two came together. >> in findings yesterday, ntsb investigators revealed that they were using fans that supposed to clear out some of the smoke. >> rather than using two crucial fans to suck smoke out of the tunnel, the fans were turned inward. causing the smoke to be further pulled in. choking the passengers those fans were supposed to help safe. -- save. >> leon and maureen, at a hearing today, the subject of safety came up briefly. ntsb investigators say it's going to be several months before they can issue a final report telling riders what they think happened. rebecca cooper abc 7 new

sharp criticism from the ntsb. one more note because of the findings about the fire and smoke that happened in the tunnel the ntsb is giving a urgent warning to transit systems around the country. it is the most detailed account to what happened in the metro. the ventilation fans actually pulled smoke towards a stalled train and the train operator did not immediately shut off the train's own ventilation system which pulled smoke inside the rail cars. >> that initial action of turning on the fans in the station actually sucked the smoke from the source in towards the train that was stopped there. you're not going to move smoning unless one is pushing and one is pulling. both of them were pulling. >> the ntsb also released some other findings saying metro has no way to determine the exact source of smoke in the tunnels. issues need to be addressed immediately. their conclusion, metro's response that day was not consistent with best practices. as for what's being done, metro officials seemed vague. >> we're working on

the ntsb is there on the scene as is our own tom costello tonight. tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. good evening. just moments ago they moved the burned out carcass of that train just further down the train tracks just a little bit out of view. meanwhile, the medical examiner's now going through family dental records to try to identify those victims who didn't make it out of the train alive. the first arriving fire and ems units found a scene of carnage, twisted wreckage, fire and smoke. and passengers climbing through windows desperate to escape a burning train. >> all units, more ambulances are required for a car versus train motor vehicle accident. >> reporter: it happened at 6:30 p.m., rush hour on the packed metro-north train line that serves new york city's commuter towns. >> two cars went billowing out from everywhere. >> reporter: witnesses say an suv was sitting very near the track when the train crossing arm came down on the car. the driver, a mother of three, got out to check for damage then inched forward right into the path of

ntsb investigated a number of them. the derailment accident was determined to be the fault of the driver. i believe he fell asleep. this accident involved an error by the passenger driving the suv. but we don't know until the investigation is complete. how she got on the tracks we'll have to look at whether the signals were working properly and what else might have factors in her being on the track at the wrong time. >> can i ask you how long does an investigation like this take and sort of what's involved? >> the investigators are on scene as of i think, this morning. it is a very good team. they'll be looking at everything from the signals that i mentioned to what was happening in the minutes before the accident. fortunately this train, i'm sure, has a front end camera as most trains do. we'll have those and black boxes on the train. they'll be looking at the survivability of the train itself in terms of the penetration of the train by the rail, the escape routes available, the safety introductions that were-- instruc

>> alison this sharp criticism of metro from the ntsb, word is spreading among passengers. a lot of concern here. a lot of concern at the council of governments today where those recommendations were delivered. now, the ntsb investigated the fatal event here near the station back on january 12th and today, it released some of the preliminary findings of its investigation and i can go over a few of those for you. it stated basically that the procedures for ventilation of smoke in some systems are inadequate. metro should immediately address these issues to prevent the occurrence. there is no means to determine the exact source of smoke in the tunnel network. and then it went on to say that the ventilation strategy during the accident was not consistent with the best practices. we heard from christopher hart of the ntsb describing how the fans functioned back on january 12th. >> that initial action of turning on the fans sucked the smoke from the source in towards the train that was stopped there because of the smoke. so that actually didn't help the situation. >> now when re

the ntsb has downloaded data from a train recorder and a second was sent off for analysis. investigators will use information from the train and the crossing signals to figure out what happened there. now, according to the "new york times" nationally, railroad crossing accidents have dropped 32% from 2004 to 2013 but that is not the case for the three major commuter trains in new york region. in 2004 there were 26 accidents. that increased to 28 in 2013. nbc's tom costello has the latest on tuesday's accident from westchester medical center where several victims are still hospitalized. >> yeah, tamron good day from a very snowy westchester county and the medical center behind me where they have been treating eight of the victims who remained overnight with lacerations, burns and open fractures. meanwhile at crash site itself investigators have now removed the wreckage from the train tracks, but the ntsb's job now is try to dissect everything every peeves evidence and figure out why this accident happened in the first place. >> it took nearly 24 hours for crews to remove the

adam tuss has the new recommendations from the ntsb.t with chris gordon live in arlington. >> reporter: we have fresh information for you within the past half hour an inspector and investigator with the ntsb was here at the courthouse station. now, we arrived just about 2:00 this afternoon. take a look at the pictures we took and what we saw. there were half a dozen fire trucks at the station. it was still open at the time so we went down the escalator to the platform of the orange and silver lines. we smelled the smoke first and then we saw it. it was smoke from an electrical fire on orders of the arlington county fire department, all passengers who were on the platform were ordered to leave. they were evacuated. they left the station which was closed for about an hour. then i spoke to a fire department lieutenant who was on the sce

we just got word from ntsb that they are launching a go team.ect that go team to be leaving here, washington, d.c., in another hour and a half from now and they will arrive there at the crash site 6:00 p.m. local time there in california. that's the word. we also know that investigators, federal investigators from the federal railroad administration are also en route to the crash site as we speak. it's clear. wheels are rolling to piece this all together and figure out what happened here and bottom line is why was that truck on those tracks? what happened in the seconds leading up to that. all of these are going to be questions that investigators now have on their hands and they won't have answers until they get there. late word, they are all on their way. >> police officer telling us the accident was likely avoidable. luckily at this point no one killed in this crash although two people in critical condition. thank you very much. great to have you with us. >>> up next, up to 100 christians taken prisoner and held hostage by isis. their fate rig

debra alfarone at l'enfant plaza where riders are reacting to the ntsb saying that metro did not have proper ventilation procedures in place for when smoke fill tunnels. >> it's hard to believe. what are they paying all these people to do? >> reporter: ever since ventilation fans meant to clear smoke from this tunnel instead pushed smoke into this metro train january 12th killing 61- year-old carol glover and sending over 80 people to the hospital the ntsb has been investigating. today they issued three urgent recommendations essentially ordering metro to assess ventilation it, to make sure it works and complies with standards, develop written ventilation procedures and train staff and first responders on those procedures. reporters couldn't wait to hammer the interim gm. >> it was all part of our investigation. >> reporter: after the deadly 2009 crash the ntsb said metro had woefully neglected its safety culture. some say they don't see change. >> to me it's like metro is saying oh, well, it is what it is and you got to take it. >> you can read metro's entire response on the wusa9 ap

on the east coast where the ntsb is trying to solve a mystery of why a suv stoped on the tracks to trigger a fiery crash in a new york city suburb that killed six people. i will talk to a man who jumped from the burning train. >>> meanwhile in taiwan, time is running out to rescue anymore victims from a shocking plane crash that killed at least 61 people. and our aviation expert ss are going to the tell us what might have gone wrong sploochlt and the real life american sniper. i will talk othe former navy s.e.a.l. who trained chris kyle. >> and the former body man speaks out of the former chief of stuff. >>> and as moregan spurlock stops by and it is always interest g interesting. and he brought out a few friends, and it is going the be interesting here on set. i want to start with a dramatic survival story, the commuter who barely escaped with his life when he jumped from a burning train. he joins us via skype from his home. how are you doing? >> well i feel very blessed today, don, and i'm glad to be here. >> we are glad that you are here and sorry that you had to witness this, and obvio

adam tuss has the new recommendations from the ntsb. we're going to start with chris gordon live in arlington. >> reporter: we have fresh information for you within the past half hour an inspector and investigator with the ntsb was here at the courthouse station. now, we arrived just about 2:00 this afternoon. take a look at the pictures we took and what we saw. there were half a dozen fire trucks at the station. it was still open at the time so we went down the escalator to the platform of the orange and silver lines. we smelled the smoke first and then we saw it. it was smoke from an electrical fire on orders of the arlington county fire department, all passengers who were on the platform were ordered to leave. they were evacuated. they left the station which was closed for about an hour. then i spoke to a fire department lieutenant who was on the scene and told me how it happened. >> there was an insulator fire on the track bed. our units responded. when we arrived we found that metro personnel had already extinguished the fire with

what did you learn and what did the ntsb say? >> reporter: andrea ntsb arrived in the last hour. they are taking measurements and want to find out what happened and why. six people killed last night in the accident. 15 injured. many of them seriously. now, it started when a jeep got stuck on the tracks at an intersection. an eyewitness said the gate had come down on the jeep. the driver got out to push the gate up, got back into her car and when she attempted to drive off, that's when the train slammed into her car and you can see it's lodged into the front of the train. 400 feet down the tracks. now, many people inside the front train car rushed to get out. the fire started when the electrified third rail slammed into the fronti of the car. governor cuomo was here and said he was surprised there were not more injuries. investigators will be looking to talk to eyewitnesss. they will want to look at video of the accident and, of course, look at the recorders on the train. they said they will be here about five to seven days. this whole investigation could take about a year until t

he went in there risking his own life until he was overcome by the smoke. >> reporter: the ntsb has also interviewed the driver behind ellen brody when the crossing arm came down on her car. is there a message here to drivers all over the country who come across crossing arms and guards all the time? >> once those arms come down, there's a minimum of 20 seconds before a train is going to enter that intersection. so if you are stuck, the conventional wisdom is abandon your vehicle. >> reporter: ellen brody was a jewelry designer, married with three daughters. >> the whole community is devastated because she was a wonderful person. >> reporter: we now know the identities of all five men who died on the train. 69-year-old walter liedtke, a curator of european paintings at the metropolitan museum of art. 53-year-old eric vandercar who worked at a financial firm. 42-year-old joseph nadol and -- aditya tomor. and robert dirks a chemical scientist with a wife and two children. his father -- michael. >> all a father could ever want, a father and a mother. and having had him in my life for 36 yea

ntsb has investigated five metro-north accidents in the past two years. tuesday's being the deadliest in their history. nikki burdine, wusa9. >> investigators expect to have another news conference this afternoon. we have just learned death toll is now at 7 in that train crash. >>> a house fire in anne arundel county presented a unique problem this morning. this home in odenton, maryland is owned by a d.c. police officer and ammunition inside exploded from the heat. crews found heavy flames coming from the house when they got there. no one was home at the time and there are no injuries. investigators are now trying to determine whether or not two recent fires in that neighborhood are related to this morning's incident. >>> police are trying to find out who is behind a bomb square in potomac, maryland this morning. sky 9 was above ivy mount school off seven locks road as police were investigating. police say most of the children hadn't gotten to the school yet but the ones who were in class were safely evacuated. rush hour traffic in the area was disrupted

the ntsb calling on metro to do a better job training its employees in safety measures and the ntsb also wants metro to implement a ventilation procedure to clear out smoke from the tunnels if this happens again. gerry connolly saying he is, quote, stunned that metro has to be reminded to implement these safety measures in the first place. he will get to the bottom of his questions today at this hearing at 9:00 on capitol hill. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, delia, live on capitol hill. >>> late night service could be cut under one of those bucket proposals be -- budget proposals being considered by the metro board. it could end service by midnight and fares could go up too. it's not sitting well for riders who rely on metro to get home and save money. >> cabs are a lot more expensive than teapg the metro. the met -- taking the metro. the metro is a safer option for girls going out with their girlfriends instead of taking cabs. >> metro is currently open until 3:00 a.m. on the weekends. the last time metro cut weekend service at midnight was back in the late 1990's. >>> it 16:3

ntsb says they will discuss the conditions that led to the electrical arcing the emergency response and metro's efforts to improve safety in the last couple of years. we've learned a car crash in alexandria sent a pregnant woman to the hospital and caused a water main break. firefighters tell us the car crashed into a fire hydrant on the 4500 block of eisenhower avenue. a passenger who is seven months pregnant was taken to the hospital but is expected to be ok. that crash caused a water main break which is now causing traffic delays in that area. repairs are under way right now. >> and right now, maryland governor larry hogan is delivering his first state of the state speech in annapolis. hogan is expected to give more details about his goals for the legislative session, the newly sworn in governor is expected to address education funding across agency cuts and tax relief. you can watch that speech live right now on our sister station newschannel 8. and firefighters in anne arundel county are assessing the damage from an early morning fire in odenton. crews were called to the home on th

right now we know the ntsb a team investigators from right here in washington headed to that deadly train accident. seven people are dead after that commuter train slammed into the suv on the tracks. the video is dramatic as you can see. this happened during the rush hour tuesday night. and reports say that the driver of that suv stopped on the tracks that crossing gate came do you know down she got out of her vehicle and then back in and that's when she was hit. the driver and six others were killed ten others seriously hurt. rescue crews still on the scene. this was the deadliest accident in metro north history. we'll continue to follow the latest developments and bring them to you. >>> and angie mentioned later this morning, national transportation safety board will launch a go team to investigate the metro north crash. the team leaders expected to do a quick media briefing this morning before hopping on a plane at rayeagan national. >>> some people are questioning the tone of 5911 dispatcher who took the call about a hit and run over the weekend. the accident happened on the bw parkwa

>> reporter: we do know that so far, the ntsb has not started the interview process yet. in another 24 to 48 hours. when they do they will ask how much sleep this individual received, what was the work schedule what was the shift. they want to essentially find out many things because everything is on the table, human error, mechanical error. they also want to know was anything wrong with the train in the moments leading up to this impact because at this hour jake the question still remains, how did that suv get stuck on the tracks. smoke and flames poured out of a packed metro north train after the rail line's deadliest crash yet. five people dead in the blazing inferno. >> the bodies are all from the front car because the bodies are all very badly burned and unidentifiable. >> reporter: at least 15 injured after the commuter train slammed into a mercedes suv stuck on the tracks. it was crushed and tossed 400 feet. the driver was the sixth fatality. >> the train went silent. you could tell there was panic going on toward the front of the train, like walk back, walk back.

the ntsb says there are so many thing that went wrong with the ventilation procedures at l'enfant plaza tunnel it does not want metro to wait any longer to fix three problems. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone at l'enfant plaza where riders are reacting to the ntsb saying that metro did not have proper ventilation procedures in place for when smoke fill tunnels. >> it's hard to believe. what are they paying all these people to do? >> reporter: ever since ventilation fans meant to clear smoke from this tunnel instead pushed smoke into this metro train january 12th killing 61- year-old carol glover and sending over 80 people to the hospital the ntsb has been investigating. today they issued three urgent recommendations essentially ordering metro to assess ventilation it, to make sure it works and complies with standards, develop written ventilation procedures and train staff and first responders on those procedures. reporters couldn't wait to hammer the interim gm. >> it was all part of our investigation. >> reporter: after the deadly

just a few hours ago the ntsb said it wants to get to the crash site as quickly as possible. >> our goal is to find out nome what happened but, really find out why it happened so that we can issue safety recommendations to try and keep this from happening again. >> the ntsb says crews will spend up to a week at the crash site gathering clues. the investigation as to why the crash happened in the first place could take up to a year. >>> route 1 is back open after a woman was hit and killed by a car this morning in howard county. this happened right near the intersection of bonnyview lane. chopper 4 was over the scene just after 6:00 this morning. police are not releasing the woman's name until family can be notified. right now police say two vehicles hit the woman. the first vehicle a toyota suv, stopped and called for help pap second vehicle took off. police are still looking noor driver. for that driver. >>> a shooting during morning rush hour near a busy shopping center in southeast d.c. left a teenager dead. this happened near the irntd section of minnesota avenue and east capital str

meanwhile witnesses told the ntsb that seconds before the arm came down on ellen brody's car traffic was inching through the railroad intersection, the crossing. working through the bitter cold, salvage crews were able to clear and repair the tracks of the burned out metro-north train. the blackened remains taken to a nearby maintenance yard where investigators spent the day looking for clues. also today for the first time the train engineer treated for smoke inhalation told investigators his story. that he slammed on the brakes as soon as he saw an suv inching on to the tracks, but the train was traveling at 58 miles per hour and there was little he could do. >> he went in and out of the train dragging people out. the train was engulfed in fire and smoke. he went in there risking his own life until he was overcome by smoke. >> reporter: the ntsb has also interviewed the driver behind ellen brody when the crossing arm came down on her car. is there a message here for drivers all across the country who come across crossing arms and guards all the time? >> once those arms come down, th

as you mentioned, the ntsb is now on scene. they are actually touring the site at this very moment.pokesman a short time ago said that team experts are on hand expertise and in a number of areas to figure what went wrong here. they're going to try they say and confirm some reports that have already been made public. according to the initial reports, a black s.u.v. tried to cross the railroad tracks yesterday evening. the crossing gate came down on the s.u.v. the driver then left her vehicle. she took a look around returned to the s.u.v. she then tried to move forward and that's when she got stuck on the tracks and the impact took police. the impact so great that the third rail pierced the railcar causing an explosion and fire. in total six dead dozens hurt. some of the still pictures taken moments after the collision gives some idea of the full extent of the horrific nature of this accident. it could have been much worse. we're told that the train operator helped to save lives. >> engineer was, you know, trying to do what he could do to save people but at some point, you know, when

according to ntsb investigators, detailing their initial investigation today. the third rail, the electrified rail, pierced the front car of the train. and gas from the suv, according to the investigators, the driver of the suv who died as been identified as 49ials ellen brody, a mother of three. five male passengers in the front part of the train also died. the suv had stopped on the tracks when the safety arm of the train crossing came down on the back of that suv. part of the investigation will be to determine if the driver of the suv was confused by the signals at the crossing, or felt it impossible to back up. an eyewitness, the driver of the vehicle behind her, described what he saw when that safety arm came down on the vehicle in front of him. >> it comes down and hits the top of her car. the back of the roof. and actually slides a little bit down the back towards the back window. i fully expected her to back up, so i looked behind me, and luckily there's nobody behind me, i'm able to back up, and waiting for her to back up, instead she gets out of the c

the ntsb will investigate. we are also waiting a news conference in new york and we will bring you updates as soon as they are available. >> a newly cleaned up her ship is back at sea. it left baltimore after was scrubbed down following a nora virus outbreak. the ship experienced two outbreak/year. the virus can spread quickly last year from contaminated food and water. >> we do not get to go to haiti and now we are back a day early and we were giving a whopping $75. >> in addition to the $75 voucher, passengers of the cruise were refunded the cost of their cruise. real caribbean -- royal caribbean rescheduled passengers. >> to create a announce that it will gain millions to crash victims because of a deadly design flaw. they owed nearly $11 million to victims of a deadly crash involving a 1996 camry in minnesota where three people died. they said that the assembly could stick and accelerate. >> this week's your chance to hang out with pope francis hosting his second google hang out thursday morning. the pope t

still a lot of unease among some of the riders here and the ntsb continues to dig deeper. and here is what we've learned about metro's ventilation system challenges on january 12th. the ventilation fans were not running in the right direction meaning smoke was pushed inside toward passengers. also the train that was stuck in the tunnel drew smoke inside because the ventilation system was not turned off. metro has since said it is allowing operators to be able to shut off the system without first getting permission. now, the ntsb is now urging transit systems across the country to check their ventilation systems because of the seriousness of this matter. more of this being laid out online at nbcwashington.com for you. and all of these findings come as metro prepares to meet today about increasing fares. we'll have more on that coming up. >> molette green live for us at l'enfant plaza. >>> we want you to take a look at this surveillance video from inside the donovan hotel where a local attorney was found stabbed to death. d.c. police want to talk to this person. the video sh

what else is the ntsb looking at? >> reporter: good afternoon. the ntsb has taken the train away for further analysis and inspection. here at the hospital eight patients remain with injuries that range from burns and lacerations to broken bones. as you mentioned, the ntsb wants to talk to the engineer and could be conductor, they'll look at the recorders they retrieve and analysis is being done in washington and new york. they've downloaded the data that will tell them about the brakes and how fast it was going. they want to know what was she doing on the tracks at the time and why didn't she heed the advice of the driver behind her to back up off the tracks? they'll do a site survey that will tell them when the engineer saw the car as he approached and maybe when she saw the train as it approached her. they'll be here for five days and have a final report possibly it could take a year ronan. >> adam reese, thanks for the update. >> an overseas the death toll is rising in another deadly accident. the crash of transasia flight 235. death toll ther

the ntsb said the train's engineer activated the emergency brake which then prompted the train's hornnd. that horn sounded for four seconds. four seconds. then the train slammed into the woman's suv. perhaps she thought she had more time. a spokesman for the ntsb said the man in the car behind brody doesn't remember hearing the train horn or the bells. though he did recall seeing the flashing lights. the last thing he saw was ellen brody's suv disappear and then explode as it was pushed nearly 1,000 feet by the train. >> i guess we may never know why she didn't move or stayed with the car. i mean does it seem she didn't hear the horn? >> it's possible. i spoke with the train engineer and said the horn is supposed to be audible at a quarter mile away so you'd think she would have heard it because it's loud on the flip side of that he said even as the train is approaching, the sound of the horn as the train moving forward, the sound of the horn is going backwards, the same thing with an ambulance racing through the city streets. even though going closer to her the sound is further away

the ntsb is now recommending that all transit agencies nationwide test their ventilation system. >>> maryland governor larry hogan is proposing a bill that would eliminate state income taxes for veterans receiving military pensions. he detailed the plan during a gathering at the american legion post in green belt. the governor said the tax relief would be phased in over four years. >> that's my family in a lot of ways because it will give us more money to do some of the things that are important to us as far as paying other bills and taking care of other responsibilities college tuition and things of that nature. >> it's going to cost about $50 million for the tax exemption on military pensions. the governor is also pushing for tax relief for retired police officers firefighters and emergency personnel. >>> all right, phase one, complete. it's done. but it's going to take many more years and a lot more money before earthquake repairs are finished at the national cathedral. news4's tom sherwood gives us a tour of the progress thus far and explains what's left. >> reporter: the earthqu

the ntsb will hold hearings in june. >> a first look at stolen items confiscated by the police in an unusual theft ring bust. several people were arrested. they seize stolen items like guns and drugs. abc 7 was the only station inside the million dollar home where the group would squatting. it was littered with clothing, mattresses food, and they even had a baby living there. a crime alert near howard university campus. a string of car break-ins in the north and south banneker parking lots. the thefts happened early this morning. if you have information, d.c. police with love to talk with you. >> now a story we first broke an nfl player charged with assault in d.c. jackson of the colts made the play that set off deflate-gate. now the police say the linebacker attacked a pizza delivery man after argument about a parking spot. it happened last night in an alley off of u street. >> he said i'm going to kill you because i told you not to park here. he grabbed my hand in my neck. he grabbed my neck like this. >> jackson was issued a citation for simple assault. dramatic new video in the a

. >> reporter: the ntsb now getting a first look at the crash site. can see investigators there sour rounding the first burnt out car of the train. the first step in the process is documenting all of the wreckage. investigators have the train's event recorders which will tell how fast the train was traveling and when brakes were applied. they're also examining the rail crossing signals. >> we know that we want to send somebody to look at the signals. the rail traffic signals, the highway signals, as well as the crossing arms and each of those devices has a recorder on it. those recorders have already been secured. >> reporter: the hundreds of passengers self-evacuated. some say they were on their own without instructions. any indication at this point whether this process of getting passengers off the train happened fast enough have you had a chance to speak to passengers? >> in this press briefing i'm going to discuss the ntsb's investigative processes because we have not confirmed any of that at this point. we will by the time we've completed this in

that's according to the ntsb. the train itself drew smoke inside because its ventilation was not turned off. today, the ntsb recommended that all transit agencies throughout the country test their ventilation systems. >> when we make an urgent recommendation it's because we have already, even though we haven't completed the investigation, we have seen there's a problem in this area and the problem needs to be addressed immediately. >> tomorrow marks one month since the incident at the plaza station. the metro board meets tomorrow and this investigation is likely to be on the agenda. >>> a tragedy in frederick county. a popular teenager died behind the wheel of her suv as she was headed to high school. she crashed into a school bus traveling in the opposite direction. knight died on the scene. the bus driver and a student on the bus went to the hospital with minor injuries. officers say that knight was not using her phone at the time of the crash. >>> a legal victory for the d.c. police chief tonight. the jury in a

i don't know the cause of the accident and that's the purpose of the ntsb investigation. providing all the information that we have. >> and he insisted that the metro system that was the head of the metro, he said the metro system is safe and he rides it every day. incidentally, before the hearing got under way the chairman read a letter from ntsb that did not participate but warned the others not to release any new information during that hearing. reporting live from northwest washington sam ford, abc 7 news. >> thank you, sam. coming up at 6:00 a scare at a government office. why police evacuated arlington county's office of emergency management. thousands of pieces of prized artwork are about to get a new home. where the items from the corcoran gallery of art collection are going. >> a vienna woman is suing her own town. i'm chris pabst. we'll tell you why she says an "act of god" >> happening now no southeast washington, police are looking for the suspect in a deadly stabbing. officers found tracy jones last night on alabama avenue. jones died at the hospital. this ha

. >>> the ntsb has investigated five accidents in the last two years s years. in the worst ten were killed in the bronx in 2013. investigators determined the train was traveling three times the posted speed when it entered a curve. the ntsb said the engineer had fallen asleep because he had severe sleep disorder. >>> overseas now, at least 12 people were killed when a taiwanese plane crashed after takeoff. dramatic video showed the twin engine flying on its side and clipping a roadway before plunging into the river. it had just taken off on a domestic flight. 58 were on board. 30 are missing. many of the passengers are from china. >>> early this morning jordan responded to the apparent execution of one of its pilots by islamic state militants. just hours after the militants released a video purportedly showing the pilot burned to death jordan killed two of its prisoners. >> it calls for quick action and the jordanian government did not waste any time. two terrorists it was holding including a would-be bomber were executed by hanging. a convoy carrying the priso

. >>> breaking right now, ntsb is set to release new information on that deadly metro north crash ink. >>> a man shot and killed by a fairfax county police officer. i'm david culver. >>> investigators launch a sex investigation at a local nail salon tonight. >>> judge ordered internal affairs to be made public in the john gear case. northern virginia reporter david culvert just stepped out of the courtroom with an update for us. david? >> reporter: jim, this is a big win for the family of john gear. essentially today's order now forces the fairfax county police which is right across the street here to release the internal affairs records on the officer responsible for shooting and killing john gear. that officer is adam torres. he shot and killed gear on august 29th 2013 while gear stood unarmed in the doorway of his springfield home. police said he later had a gun on a nearby stoop. for 16 months fairfax county police refused to release any information on the criminal investigation, even withholding it from prosecutors. in december, the judge ordered police to make public the 12,000

meanwhile, ntsb investigators are putting together a time lynn of how that accident happened. they say 39 seconds before the crash, warning lights began to flash and then the gates came down as normal. investigators met with the engineer of the commuter train and he told them that he slammed on the emergency brakes as soon as he saw the suv inching on the track. that prompted the horn to sound twice. but since the train was traveling at 58 miles per hour there was nothing he could do to prevent the collision that happened seconds later. ntsb investigators say the impact pushed the suv a thousand feet down the strikes where the train came to a stop. investigators are in the process of introuing the train conductor and asking passengers on the train to offer up their testimonies. >>> later this year the supreme court is expected to decide whether all 5 50 states must allow same-sex marriage. house speaker leader john boehner says they won't stand in the way of the ruling. >> i don't expect we'll weigh in on this. the court will make its decision and that's why they're there. it

the ntsb will move the train this afternoon. >> today, ferguson, missouri, police will test a new lesshal attachment for guns which looks like an orange piece of plastic on the end of the gun barrel seen if a "washington post" picture called "at attorneyive," that fires a projectile that can knock a person down but not kill them even at close range. ferguson police chief started researching this less lethal weapon after the fallout over the shooting death of unarticled teen michael group. a handful of officers will train with it before it is rolled out to the entire force and is manufactured in san diego. >> a popular gadget that is all the rage on social media is getting knocked down a peg. museums are banning the use of selfie stick which -- afraid they could be so distracted they run into priceless art work in place in indoor galleries including big name museums in boston chicago and new york. i knew it. that is why i didn't get you that for christmas. >> is that why? nonuse is the reason you would not get it. a rainy weekend. >> encouraging news for breast cancer patients, with yea

sounding in the metro tunnel before the doomed train even left the platform and we learned from the ntsb that metro ignored recommendations from a strikingly similar incident in chicago almost a decade ago. after the 2006 chicago derail the forced 1,000 people to evacuate through a smoky tunnel and sent 152 people to hospitals, the ntsb advised subways nationwide to figure out how to get people safely out of tunnels. >> how many people have to die and how many events do we have to have before we can answer that question? why did that not happen? >> reporter: newly released 911 calls show just how hard it was for the trapped passengers to get help. >> we need everybody to come together to help us. >> okay. this is d.c. police, sir. you are in arlington. >> reporter: one caller is passed off to arlington. >> hold on, sir. are you on the metro? >> yes. >> okay. give me one second. i need to transfer you to the metro police department, okay? >> reporter: and then passed off again. >> the train is filling with smoke. >> reporter: members of congress are furious that emergency responders still

instant the train came. >> reporter: piecing together how the accident happened will be part of the ntsbnvestigation. >> is there any indication that the crossing arms were not working properly? >> we have no indication to believe that they were doing anything other than operating properly. >> reporter: the dead include the suv driver, 49-year-old ellen brody, eric vandercar, and 69-year-old walter liedtke, a curator at a museum. >>> the other victim we are learning about is robert dirks. he was a married father of two and a research scientist. and also joseph nadal were killed in the crash. both were employees of j.p. morgan. >>> now the other major disaster story we have been following overnight. this dealing with the death toll from yesterday's plane crash in taiwan. that now stands at 31. 15 people have been hospitalized and another 12 are still missing missing. search efforts are continuing but are being hampered by zero visibility in the water. as you can see here, look at this. cameras on a dashboard of a car capturing the image of the plane as it clipped the side of the bridge as

the ntsb will be on the scene later this morning. >> now to another fox news alert. a desperate search for survivors after a terrifying plane crash in taiwan. almost hard to believe showing the moments the trance asia plane loses control clips a bridge and crashes right into a river. at least 15 people on board are dead. there is worry that number could rise. the plane had just taken off before the pilot reportedly yelled mayday, mayday engine flameout. rescue crews can be seen rushing to the wreckage. the plane fuselage half submerged in the small river. this is the second deadly crash in just six months. 48 people died when a plane went down in july. >> a breast cancer break through gets early approval by the fda. pfizer's promising drug treats postmenopausal woman with a certain type of advanced breast cancer. an ongoing study shows it slows the progression by blocking certain enzymes. fda approval comes after deaths from breast cancer drop dramatically between 1990 and 2011 there has been a decline of 34 percent thanks to better treatment and greater awareness. >

we received an update from the ntsb. washington, d.c. where they will analyze it. by tomorrow we should know how fast this train was traveling. we also know in the next 24 to 48 hours they hope to interview the train's crew. smoke and flames poured out of a packed metro north train after the rail line's deadliest crash yet. five people dead in the blazing inferno. >> the bodies are from the front car. the bodies are all very badly burned and unidentifiable. >> reporter: at least 15 injured after the train slammed into a mercedes suv stuck on the tracks. it was crushed and tossed 1,000 feet. the driver was the sixth fatality. the 5:45 metro north train left grand central tuesday evening. as the train approached val holla suv crossed the track. but it gets stuck. witnesses say the railroad crossing arm went dundown and the driver got out to inspect. the train slams into the suv. new video from inside the train shows how packed it was. more than 600 people were on board. the electrifying third rail rammed through the train.

one passenger on that train, the head of metro and the ntsb chairman, will be among the witnesses. today the ntsb displayed evidence from their investigation into that incident including the burned power cables and cover for the third rail. >>> maryland's acting transportation secretary ordered the immediate inspection of dozens of state- owned bridges. that action was prompted by an incident earlier this week when a chunk of concrete fell from a beltway bridge smashing the windshield of a woman traveling along suitland road in morningside. fortunately she was not hurt, but in ordering the inspections secretary pete ron said drivers should not have to think twice about going across or under any of the state's brings. >>> four elementary students suffered minors injuries on the bus they were riding when it stopped suddenly this afternoon along georgia avenue in silver spring. that bus had students from sligo creek elementary. the driver was forced to slam on the brakes when a car cut off the bus. >>> a shootout at a chantilly shopping center has sent one armed suspect to the hospita

they do welcome ntsb's recommendations and have begun to address them. the full statement is on our wusa9 app. debra alfarone, wusa9 news. >>> and the courthouse metro stop in arlington is open yet again following a small track fire that shut down the station around 2:00 this afternoon. it forced metro to single track trains on the or angeand silver lines a while. no injuries were reported. >>> we are bracing for the coldest temperatures of the season. first alert chief meteorologist topper shutt joins us now with more on what we can expect. brrr, top. >> we got lots to talk about because with the cold will some some snow showers. we're looking ahead. some afternoon snow showers could affect the evening commute tomorrow, best chance between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. wind chills tomorrow night behind arctic front no. 1 will be below 0. there's a better chance of snow showers saturday evening. it takes five to 10 minutes of snow showers to coat the ground. wind chills sunday will be 10 to 20 degrees below 0, in part because of the wind. 8:00 tomorrow winds not a f