A 44-year-old man was taken to the hospital for a psychological evaluation after he intentionally placed himself in front of a train at the Ballston Metro Station, officials said.

The incident happened shortly after 9:30 p.m. Monday. An Orange Line operator saw the man in the train's path and then used the train's emergency brake, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.

The train made contact with the man, and he suffered lacerations to the hand but was not seriously injured. He received medical attention at the scene and then was taken to a hospital, Metro spokeswoman Caroline Lukas said.

After the incident, single tracking occurred between the Ballston and East Falls Church stations for about 90 minutes, causing minor delays.

This suicide attempt was the third instance of a person intentionally being on the Metro tracks in the past few days.

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On Friday, a train operator was able to stop in front of a woman who placed herself in the tracks at Bethesda. On Saturday, a man put himself in front of a train headed to NoMa-Gallaudet, but the train was able to stop and only made minor contact with the man, officials said.

njagoda@washingtonexaminer.com