A 33-year-old man with Down syndrome was allegedly left trapped inside a Washington, DC-area Metro station for nearly a week after a transit worker failed to help him while taking a personal phone call, according to a lawsuit filed by his family.
Rashawn Williams, of Potomac, had been under the supervision of the care company WeAchieve when he left a hotel and boarded a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train at around 12.30am on October 21, 2023, the complaint says.
When the train reached Glenmont station and was taken out of service, Williams was told to get off and informed that no additional train would be coming, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in January.
After riding the escalators up to the station exit, Williams tried to get through the fare gate but could not. The lawsuit alleges he waited there for help while a WMATA employee remained in the booth for more than 30 minutes on a personal call.
Unable to leave, Williams went back into the station and later attempted to exit through an emergency door. That door led into a room that locked from the outside and was supposed to be inspected every day, the lawsuit claims.
From there, Williams passed through another door that opened into a stairwell, where he remained until he was discovered six days later by a police officer and the station manager, according to the complaint filed in the District of Maryland.
When he was found, Williams was covered in urine and feces, had insects in his hair and was described as “severely dehydrated, physically depleted, and in poor condition,” the lawsuit says.
“The conditions that Rashawn endured were dire, as he spent the entirety of his unnecessary confinement in complete darkness, isolated and vulnerable,” the filing states.
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.
