Two dead after car collides with Brightline train
Two people are dead after their car collided with a Brightline train packed with commuters early Thursday in Aventura, police said.
While the safety gates were lowered, the Toyota attempted to cross the train tracks about 6 a.m. at 214th Street and Dixie Highway, according to a statement from Aventura Police Chief Michael Bentolila.
The blue car was left mangled near the tracks just over the Broward County line.
Police will not release the names of those killed until next of kin has been notified, Bentolila’s statement said. No injuries to any of the train’s passengers were reported, Brightline confirmed.
Aventura Police’s Traffic Homicide Detectives are investigating the incident.
Brightline has stops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. In densely populated areas, the trains run 79 miles per hour but can reach more than 125 mph in rural areas.
Deadly strikes have plagued the private train company since its first death during a test run in July 2017, about five months before it officially opened in January 2018.
To date, none of the deaths involving Brightline have been blamed on its equipment or crews.
Investigations showed most victims were either suicidal, intoxicated, mentally ill or had gone around barriers at an intersection in an attempt to beat the trains.
In December 2019, the Associated Press reported that there had been 40 more deaths since the first in July 2017 and that Brightline had the highest death rate among the nation’s 821 railroads with a rate of more than one death a month and one for every 29,000 miles the trains have traveled.
After the report, the company created a public awareness campaign about the dangers of trying to beat a train and walking on or around the tracks.
“Safety is a topic that we will not stop talking about and we are asking the community, law enforcement, elected officials and members of the media to use their platforms and help amplify a consistent safety message: stay off the tracks and obey all warning signs,” the company said in a statement earlier this month.
Brightline says it has installed infrared detectors that will warn engineers if anyone is lurking near the tracks so they can slow down or stop. The company has added more fencing and landscaping to make track access more difficult and is also installing red-light cameras at crossings that will allow police to ticket drivers who go around guardrails. It is testing drones to monitor the tracks.