On Saturday, a Brightline train collided with a firetruck as it attempted to bypass a closed crossing, injuring 15 people. Thankfully, there are no mortalities.
The incident happened in Delray Beach at around 10:45 am according to Delray Beach Fire Rescue, per WPTV. Three firefighters were hospitalized with injuries, although they are all in stable condition.
12 passengers only suffered minor injuries.
A video shared to X by Brightline shows the lead-up to the cash. The gates were closed, and the fire truck was trying to navigate past them to attend to their emergency as quickly as possible. However, a Brightline train was barreling down the tracks.
"From the Brightline Safety and Security Team: Railroad safety is a community-wide effort. For everyone's safety, never drive around crossing gates when they are down," wrote Brightline.
A passenger posted a
The passenger shows the damage from inside "the car that took the most damage." The other video shows the mauled front of the train after the collision with the firetruck.
Authorities are investigating the incident. Delray Beach Fire Chief Ronald Martin said, per the outlet, "At this point, all that information is being investigated through a multi-agency, multi-partner investigative process."
Witnesses Describe The Crash
Witnesses spoke to WPTV about the crash.
"I was on a call with a friend of mine and the next thing you know I heard the crash," said Alek Dunn, a resident who lives near the crash. "I saw the train deploy its emergency brakes and slow down."
"It's scary. I mean it almost feels like you're in a war zone here with all this rubble on the ground and there are a lot of first responders here," said Lyn Spaeth, a visitor.
Another resident, Kevin Keller, said, "I don't know how a vehicle was on the train tracks and especially a fire truck."
The closed gates only blocked off half of either road. This allowed the firetruck to perform a snaking maneuver to bypass both gates. The firefighters must have deemed their emergency truly great to risk a slowed drive down active tracks. A train will always win, however.
I am glad no one has been seriously harmed or killed. Let's hope no other first responders perform any daring plays from now on.
