McPherson Square Metro station remains open after man falls one story

The McPherson Square Metro station is operating the Silver, Blue and Orange lines as usual after a man fell off a walkway this afternoon.

Vito Maggiolo, a public information officer with D.C. fire and EMS, said the victim is an adult male who fell around 3:08 p.m. from an upper-level walkway to a lower level between the platform and wall. Firefighters rescued the victim and then transported him with critical injuries to an area hospital.

The scene was cleared within an hour, and Maggiolo said he was “not aware” of any temporary station closures.

Firefighters responded via the entrance at 14th and I Streets. The owner of Metro Variety, a gift shop at the Metro stop entrance, went by Mr. Chung and said he witnessed firefighters pass his store at the time of the incident but didn’t have additional information.

The upper level, which the victim fell from, has signs that read, “Danger: Fall Hazard. Do not attempt to climb.”

The cause of the victim’s fall has not been released.

D.C. resident Jillian Liu said a station closure wouldn’t affect her commute because she “doesn’t typically take the Blue or Orange or Silver lines at all.” Today, she came from a White House tour but would have walked to the Metro Center or Federal Triangle stations if McPherson Square temporarily closed.

Rod Wave, another D.C. resident, said on a Saturday a closure would be of negligible inconvenience to him.

“If it was during the week time, it would greatly affect my commute because this is how I get to work every day,” Wave said. “… There’s no parking around here.”

The most recent publicized incident of someone falling off a Metro platform was one month ago today when a Metro employee fell onto the track at the Farragut North station.

Liu said that as a commuter, she personally doesn’t have concerns of falling off a Metro platform or walkway.

“I guess I’ve never even thought of that sort of thing happening at the train station,” Liu said.

Wave agrees, but sometimes has concerns for others.

“If there’s people in a rush, like during rush hour during Tuesdays and Wednesdays typically, those are kind of busy times,” Wave said. “Not for me though, that was never really my big concern I would say.”

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were 1,378 fatalities and injuries due to pedestrian rail trespassing in 2023. This year’s data isn’t yet available.