MAGAZINE SPORTS PLUS EIGHT LESS ONE READYFOR THE NBA Reality TV show’s parents split. E1 Tyreke Evans plans to go early. D1 TUESDAY75¢ JUNE 23,2009 $1 in some locations outside the The Philadelphia Inquirer metropolitan area City &Suburbs Edition C 181stYear, No.23 Troubled Pa.aid to themoviesintighter focus Metro hospital crashin replaces D.C. kills itsCEO at least6 Friends Hospitalin N.E. Phila.has been One train struckand landed citedbyregulatorsfor atop another during rush neglecting patients. hour,the deadliest accident By To mAvril in thetransitline’s history. INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Friends Hospital, the histor- By BrettZongker ic psychiatric treatment cen- and MichaelJ.Sniffen ter in NortheastPhiladelphia, ASSOCIATED PRESS has replaced its chiefexecu- WASHINGTON —One Metro tran- tive officer after state and sit train smashed into the rear of city regulators accused the fa- another at the heightofthe capital cility of inadequate oversight city’sMonday evening rush hour,kill- of patients, including one ing at least six people and injuring who committed suicide. scores as the front end of the trailing The officials’ concerns fo- train jackknifed violently into the air cused on the hospital’s“crisis and fell atop the first. response center” —the equiv- Cars of both trains were ripped alent of an emergency room HUGHE DILLON /For The Inquirer open and smashed together in the —where the patient commit- Neil Patrick Harris (left) waits during abreak in the filming of “The Best and the Brightest” in the 2000 worst accident in the Metrorail sys- ted suicide in April. Separate- block of Delancey Place. On the steps Saturday were Bonnie Somerville (left) and Amy Sedaris. tem’s33-year history. ly,Delaware County stopped District of Columbia fire spokes- referringpatients to the inpa- man Alan Etter said crews had to tientunit at Friends because cut some people out of what he de- of the suicide, generalsecuri- scribed as a“mass casualty event.” ty concerns, and “allegations Budget woes Rescue workerspropped steel lad- of inappropriate sexual behav- ders up to the upper train cars to ior,” acounty official said. help survivors scramble to safety. County behavioral health Seats from the smashedcars spilled administrator Jonna DiStefa- onto the track. no declinedtoelaborate, cit- threaten film D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said six ing patient privacy rules. But were confirmed dead. Fire Chief an Inquirer review of police Dennis Rubin said rescue workers records shows that at least treated 76 people at the scene and three rapes of patients were taxbreak JOHN COSTELLO /Staff Photographer sent some to hospitals, sixwith criti- reported last year.One, in Janet Falcon, asenior colorist for Shooters Inc., calinjuries. Asearch for other vic- which the alleged victim was fine-tunes an image being projected to her left. tims continued into the night. a13-year-old girl, has led to AMetro official said the dead in- the arrest of ateenage boy By Carrie Rickey As next Tuesday’sbudget deadline looms, the cluded the operator of the trailing who was also apatient, police INQUIRER MOVIE CRITIC drama that unites Harrisburg and Hollywood is: train. Her name was not immediate- said. The other two cases re- M. Night Shyamalan was pressed. His actors Will Pennsylvania film tax credits make the cut — ly released. main active, said police Capt. were poised for apivotal scene in the sci-fi fantasy or be cut? The crash about 5p.m. took place John Darby. The Last Airbender.The director positioned him- Opponents of the incentive, like Sen. Pat Vance on the system’sred line, Metro’s In addition to hospital CEO self on abridge high above the floor of the Budd (R., Cumberland), call the credits “a Hollywood busiest, which runs below ground Arris Veronie, vice president factory in Hunting Park, and called, “Action!” giveaway.” Supporters, like union executive Micha- See TRAIN on A4 Diane Carugati and chief med- Below milled many of the 6,000 extras and 650 el Barnes, call it an engine for job growth in astate ical officer Marc Rothman crew members —plus adelegation from Harris- no longer manufacturing steel and food like it are no longer working at burg. The challenges of a$135 million movie were used to. Friends. None of the three daunting, but they were dwarfed by what confront- Since 2004, when the state first offered credits, could be reached for com- ed state representatives. the number of movies made annually in Pennsylva- ment. Ahospital spokesman So, on May 1, Shyamalan took 15 minutes to nia has jumped —from five in 2003 to 23 in 2007. declined to comment on staff lobby lawmakers facinga$3.2 billion budget defi- So, too, have jobs in allied industries, from hotel departures but said the facili- cit to preserve Pennsylvania’sendangered $75 mil- housekeepers who make the beds of visiting talent ty was being run by interim lion film tax credit. See TAX on A6 See HOSPITAL on A7 COMING THURSDAY Hearing set on VA cancer cases Specter plans ameeting hereMonday. Also,New Jersey Yesterday,the unfolding scandal prompted Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Rep.John Adler called foracongressional probe. Pa.) to say he would hold ahearing on the matter in Philadelphia on Mon- By Marie McCullough Flippin, 68 —aminister,teacher, day. INQUIRER STAFF WRITER and Air Force veteran —ishardly “The news accounts have creat- Four years ago, after talking to unique. ed agreat deal of concern in the doctors at the Philadelphia VA The Philadelphia VA has notified veterans’ community,” Specter Medical Center,the Rev.Ricardo 92 prostate cancer patients treated said. “They report very serious Flippin opted for aradiation thera- between 2002 and 2008 that their problems and …itisamatter for The Top 100 py that would precisely targethis “brachytherapy” radiation doses congressional oversight. We need prostate cancer and leave nearby were too high or too low.The U.S. to find out what happened.” Associated Press Businesses organs unharmed. Department of Veterans Affairs Rep. John Adler (D., N.J.), the Rescue crews had to cut people out Instead, his prostate cancer got has shut down the brachytherapy region’sonly member of the House of the trains. The Metro chief said In the Region too little radiation while his rectum program in Philadelphia and three Veterans Affairs Committee, also the first train was stopped on the received so much that he suffered other VA hospitals with less seri- called for acongressional probe. tracks, waiting for another to clear A special sectioN excruciating, permanent damage. ous problems. See ORDEAL on A9 the station ahead, when it was hit. on the region’s top firms and how they’ve weathered one of the toughest business years in generations. Plus, Grace and Grit AYoung Athlete’s Fight for Life we chart the biggest employers, best-paid CEOs, and most valuable companies. Rebounding,toraceagain Last of three parts. fered brain injuryonNov.2,when his throat and his jaw was wired WEATHER he lost control of his bike and shut. He desperately wanted to ar- By MichaelVitez smashed, face-first, into acar go- gue his case but couldn’tspeak. High 82, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER ing 40 milesanhour. His father,Mike Miller,was vehe- Low66 att Miller was determined Three days before the physics mently against his taking the test. Partly sunny.Chance of to resume his life where test, Matt had afollow-up appoint- Matt was premed, with all A’sinsci- M he’d left off —even com- ment with J. Forrest Calland, the ences. Why rush? Why risk abad showers. Full report and exclusive NBC10 EarthWatch pleting his fall semester as ajun- trauma surgeon in charge of his grade? forecast, B15. ior at the University of Virginia. care at the University of Virginia Matt took his Physics 201 mid- Matt left the hospital Nov.26, Medical Center. term —20problems on harmonic INDEX sooner than anyone had expected, “By definition, there’snoway motion, waves and sound, fluids, Classifieds C6 INQlings …E2 JOHN COSTELLO /Staff Photographer and afew days later scheduled a Matt can have 100 percent of his and thermodynamics. Comics ……E6 Movies …E3 Matt Miller hugs Emily Privette after his physics midterm for Dec. 8. mental capacity back,” Calland The decision did not surprise his Editorials A12 Obituaries B13 recovery from acycling crash. “It is not The 20-year-old from St. Davids, told Matt and his father.“My gut’s longtime girlfriend from Radnor Express……D8 SideShow E2 possible to exaggerate the importance training for atriathlon, had bro- telling me this is not agood idea.” High, Emily Privette. Lotteries D8 Television E5 of family and friends,” he said. ken every bone in his face and suf- Matt still had atracheostomy in See GRACE AND GRIT on A8 © 2009 Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C. Call 215-665-1234 or 1-800-222-2765 for home delivery. Tuesday, June 23,2009 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER www.philly.com C A9 In the Nation Ordeal Terror watchlistnobar to guns By Spencer S. Hsu check for each buyer but can- study.Citing a“terror gap,” Continued from A1 WASHINGTON POST not legally stop apurchase Lautenberg introduced legis- The problems represent WASHINGTON —People solely because someone is on lation to give the U.S. attor- “more than medical malprac- named on the government’s the watch list. ney general authority to stop tice,” said Adler,who repre- terrorism watch list have pur- The study found that peo- the sale of guns or explosives sents Burlington, Ocean, and chased firearms hundreds of ple on the list purchased fire- to terrorists. Camden Counties. “It is also times since 2004, the Govern- arms 865 times in 963 at- “The special interest gun supervisory malpractice and ment Accountability Office re- tempts over afive-year peri- lobby has so twisted our na- regulatory malpractice.” ported yesterday.