Washington, DC (WUSA9) — A 75-year-old woman’s fight with Metro to do the right thing got a bit easier after she called WUSA9 for help.
Katherine Gates car was totaled after a Metro bus driver, the W3 bus with the number 3055, sideswiped her vehicle on June 14.
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She had just driven to the Washington Senior Wellness Center on Alabama Avenue, Southeast. She parked legally on 30th Street and boarded a bus to head to a trip.
The crash happened about 30 minutes later.
WMATA sent an adjustor to assess the car and deemed it totaled.
Gates said that took one full week after the crash, and Metro didn’t get her a rental until then.
“That week I spent money on Lyft going to my physical therapy appointment and the doctor’s office and now I have appointments that I put off because I don't have transportation,” said Gates.
Then Gates was told she would get the lowest blue book value for the car – that's about $2,000.
“I was overwhelmed. I kept thinking I'm not going to get enough money to buy another car and I'm a senior. I really can't, at this point in my life, get a car payment,” she explained. Finally, she contacted WUSA9 and suddenly Metro called back with a better offer.
“I don’t think this (bus) driver should be driving buses right now, he needs to learn how to drive,” she said.
WUSA9 can’t tell you if this driver is still behind the wheel. In fact, WUSA9 doesn't know a whole lot about him. Metro won't tell.
But we do know police cited him failing to pay full attention even though he had passengers on board at the time.
Metro could not tell us if drivers get retrained or suspended after a crash, but a spokesperson did tell us “WMATA settled this claim last week, including reimbursing Ms. Gates for her property loss.”
