CHARLOTTE — Charlotte City Council approved a $3.4 million contract with a Texas-based public relations firm Monday, aiming to improve the public’s view of local transit, just days after a man was stabbed on the light rail. Advocates, including the family of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who was killed on the Blue Line in August, say riders need more security, not PR.
On Tuesday, Channel 9’s Hunter Sáenz spoke with the attorney for the family of Zarutska.
Sáenz informed the family’s attorney, Lauren Newton, about the millions being spent on that PR firm.
“It’s insane,” Newton said. “It’s puzzling.”
Friday’s light rail stabbing brought some pain back to the Zarutska family.
“It was shocking to say the least,” Newton said. “This was their first Thanksgiving without Iryna. And then right after that, to hear that there’s been another stabbing on the Blue Line. It just brought everything back to the surface, as you can imagine.”
Zarutska’s family, along with Newton, have been calling for better security onboard Charlotte’s light rail, along with fare enforcement.
On Friday, security was not on the train when officials said Oscar Solarzano was banned from the Charlotte Area Transit System.
However, he still got on a Blue Line train.
Witnesses said Solarzano was drunk and yelling at people before unsheathing a large knife and stabbing the victim, Kenyon Dobie.
The attack could have been prevented if there was a security guard or police officer onboard, Newton said.
“The budget is there for there to be an armed guard or a guard on each train?” Newton said. “We don’t have that many trains. The budget is there.”
History is bound to keep repeating itself without meaningful change, the attorney said.
“There is a continued breakdown in our safety systems within public transportation, and our citizens have demanded, and they deserve safety on public transportation that our tax dollars pay for,” Newton said.
City officials said after Zarutska’s death, they’ve increased security at platforms and on the light rail. They also plan to hire people who are solely for ticket enforcement, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Dobie is recovering from the stabbing.
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