A lawsuit claims that a man with Down syndrome was allegedly left stranded in a metro station near Washington DC for six days because a transit worker was preoccupied with their phone and failed to assist him.
Rashawn Williams, a 33-year-old resident of Potomac, boarded a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train just after midnight on October 21, 2023. He had departed from a hotel where he was being cared for by WeAchieve, a supervision service.
Upon the train’s termination of service at Glenmont station, Williams was instructed to disembark and informed that no further trains would be arriving, as outlined in a lawsuit filed in January.
Attempting to exit, Williams ascended the escalators to the fare gate but was unable to leave. He patiently awaited assistance at the gate while a WMATA employee, stationed in a nearby booth, was engaged in a personal phone conversation for over half an hour, according to the lawsuit.
Unable to exit, Williams eventually ventured deeper into the station and tried to escape through an emergency door. This door led to a room which was meant to be inspected daily but was locked from the outside.
Williams then exited through another door in the room, which led to a stairwell, where he was found six days later by a police officer and the station manager, the lawsuit, filed in the District of Maryland, said.
The 33-year-old was found covered in urine and feces, with an infestation of insects in his hair, and was ‘severely dehydrated, physically depleted, and in poor condition,’ the lawsuit said.
‘The conditions that Rashawn endured were dire, as he spent the entirety of his unnecessary confinement in complete darkness, isolated and vulnerable,’ it said.
Rashawn Williams, 33, of Potomac, was seen inside the Glenmont metro station in October 2023 before he got trapped in a backroom for six days
His family has sued the metro system and the care company that took care of Williams
He was taken to the hospital to be treated for dehydration, but his family said he suffered long-term symptoms, such as being scared of the dark, having a disrupted sleeping pattern, and waking up in distress, the lawsuit said.
Jimmy and Christina Hall, Williams’ guardians, are blaming WeAchieve and WMATA for not following protocol.
The family said the WeAchieve guardian assigned to look after Williams and other members failed to go after the 33-year-old, despite realizing he had left the hotel where they were staying.
They also accused WeAchieve of failing to promptly notify them that Williams went missing for more than an hour.
‘Defendant WeAchieve, Inc., and its agents, servants and employees, all of whom were acting within the course and scope of their employment, negligently failed to exercise reasonable care and skill,’ the lawsuit read.
Judge Paula Xinis denied WMATA’s motion to dismiss the case, saying it could ‘hardly be considered “burdensome” to WMATA’ to make sure Williams safely left the station.
Williams was found after six days when a police officer got a station manager to open the emergency exit, which opened into another room with a door to stairs, where Williams was
A judge denied the metro system’s wish to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it wouldn’t have been burdensome to provide Williams’ help
‘Thus, the Amended Complaint makes plausible that WMATA denied Williams basic accommodations on account of his disability,’ she wrote.
WeAchieve did not file a motion to dismiss but has denied the allegations against them.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the lawyers of the family, WMATA, and WeAchieve for comment.