At Metro Headquarters, a Somber Service

Area clergy including Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl led a vigil early this afternoon outside Metro's downtown headquarters at the Jackson Graham Building.

"A tragedy of this magnitude touched each one of us," said Wuerl, who led the crowd in a prayer.

A woman read Psalm 23 from the podium. ("The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...") A black cloth covered the Metro symbol outside the building.

"My heart and soul goes out to those who lost their lives in this tragic accident," said Metro General Manager John Catoe. "I especially want to pause for a moment to remember one of our own. We need to pull together to get through this."

One of the known dead was Metro operator Jeanice McMillan, 42, of Springfield.

Kim Dudley, an administrative assistant with Metro, cried quietly outside company headquarters. Around her, dozens stood quietly, heads bowed, in the blazing noonday sun.

"It's quiet," said Dudley. "It's sad. There are so many worries. They were just on their way home. We know how much time we've used, but we don't know how much time we have."

Metro employee Gwendolyn Coleman cried as a friend put an arm aound her. "I'm hurting," she said.

The tragedy is compounded because of the everday nature of a train ride, said Phillip Barrett Jr., a vendor relations representative. "It's a common bond," Barrett said. "Everybody at some point uses Metro. Everybody was going about their everyday routine. Then this happened."

-- Maria Glod