WASHINGTON - Newly obtained records show a system that is supposed to help subway trains avoid crashes had malfunctioned months before the deadly Washington Metro crash in June.
Records obtained by the Washington Post show a crash was avoided in a separate incident March 2 only after the subway train's operator used an emergency brake to avoid hitting another train. The records show officials reviewing computer logs later determined there had been a problem with the Automatic Train Protection system.
National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman Bridget Serchak says investigators probing the June 22 crash learned of the March incident from a committee that monitors Metro.
Nine people were killed and more than 70 injured in June when a train slammed into another train stopped on the tracks.
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