Metro Transit Police are investigating why a man was struck by a train early Wednesday. A stretch of the Green Line was shut down for several hours after the incident, leaving riders to seek other ways to commute.
A stretch of the Green Line was restored at midday Wednesday after a man was struck and killed by a train early in the morning.
The man was hit by a non-passenger train about 5:10 a.m. on the tracks between the Suitland and Naylor Road stations. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Metro Transit Police said.
A heavy Fire & EMS presence was visible outside the Suitland station. Metro officials said they were trying to determine why the man was on the tracks. He was killed in an area with no security cameras.
However, a preliminary investigation indicates this may have been an intentional act, Metro Transit Police said. An autopsy is expected Wednesday afternoon.
The man was not a WMATA employee, officials said.
In the wake of the incident, a four-station stretch between the Branch Avenue and Southern Avenue stations was shut down for about six hours. There was no service at the stops between them, Suitland and Naylor Road.
Metro ran shuttle buses along the route, but riders were told to expect delays in both directions, Metro said.
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Early-morning commuters at the Suitland station were told to leave the station and take the shuttle buses instead. More than a hundred people had to leave the station.
One commuter said she had waited for a train for nearly an hour.
"First they said they were single-tracking," she said. "And then a train did come by. Then they said no train service."
