A 33-year-old man with Down syndrome was allegedly trapped in a locked room within a Washington D.C.-area metro station for six days in October 2023 due to alleged worker negligence, according to a lawsuit filed by his family.
Rashawn Williams, of Potomac, Maryland, boarded a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train around 12:30 a.m. on October 21, 2023, after leaving a hotel. He was under the supervision of the care company WeAchieve at the time. Williams was instructed to exit the train at Glenmont station as it was going out of service and no further trains were scheduled.
After being unable to exit the station through the fare gates, Williams reportedly waited for assistance. The lawsuit states a WMATA employee was in the booth for over 30 minutes engaged in a personal phone call. Williams then moved further into the station and attempted to leave through an emergency door. This door led to a room that locked from the outside and was reportedly not checked daily. He then entered another door in that room, which led to a stairwell.
Williams was discovered six days later by a police officer and the station manager in the stairwell. According to the lawsuit, he was found in severe distress, dehydrated, covered in urine and feces, and with insects in his hair.
His guardians, Jimmy and Christina Hall, are suing both WMATA and WeAchieve, alleging they failed to follow proper protocols. The family claims the WeAchieve guardian assigned to Williams did not pursue him after realizing he had left the hotel and did not promptly notify them of his disappearance. The lawsuit states that WeAchieve and its employees allegedly failed to exercise reasonable care and skill.
WMATA had filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that it would be burdensome to ensure every passenger's safe departure. However, Judge Paula Xinis denied the motion, stating that it was not overly burdensome for WMATA to ensure Williams' safe exit and that the complaint plausibly suggested WMATA denied Williams basic accommodations due to his disability.
WeAchieve has denied the allegations against them but did not file a motion to dismiss. Williams was taken to the hospital for treatment for dehydration. His family reports he has suffered long-term psychological effects, including fear of the dark, disrupted sleep patterns, and distress upon waking.
