ATLANTA — An Atlanta city councilmember said she supports the state government investigation into the escalator incident at the Vine City MARTA station.
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“It was worse than I thought it was going to be,” said Atlanta City Councilmember for District 11, Marci Collier Overstreet. “The video made my heart pound,” Overstreet added.
In the video, recorded moments after the Beyoncé concert on July 14, the escalator is seen suddenly speeding up.
It caused a freefall of bodies and left nearly a dozen people injured.
“And when it went back, five bodies fell on me and my leg popped,” Henry Dogan told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington.
Overstreet quickly called for a full investigation. Now, Georgia’s Insurance and Safety and Fire Commissioner John F. King is looking into what caused the incident.
“We should have someone standing there making sure there is only one person on the step,” said Overstreet.
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According to MARTA, the escalator was overloaded beyond its designed capacity because the escalators reportedly only measure one person per step.
Officials said maintenance was performed on the escalator before the incident.
“That escalator, actually, maintenance had been performed on it as early as July 10,” said Rhonda Allen, MARTA Chief Customer Experience Officer.
Overstreet said new protocols need to be in place before the city’s next big event, like the World Cup.
“It is absolutely crucial that we have confidence in our transit authority for these major events, especially the World Cup,” Overstreet told Audrey Washington.
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