Latest near-tragedy involving train was deliberate act, Wilton Manors police say

The latest person struck by a Brightline train in South Florida was no accident, Wilton Manors police said Friday.

The 48-year-old Broward man entered the tracks Thursday night as a Brightline train traveled down Northeast 24th Street, police said.

“It was an intentional act and we are working to determine why,” said Wilton Manors Police Chief Paul O’Connell.

The man is the fourth person to be hit by one of the higher-speed Brightline trains since it began service in January. Two of the people died after they reportedly tried to beat the train.

Another man, whose family said he was on his way to Publix to pick up a prescription, survived.

But unlike other cases of woeful miscalculation, police said in this case, the man was walking southbound near the tracks before 8 p.m. Thursday. Then the railway warning lights activated, and the safety arms lowered.

“Upon approach of the Brightline train, the man placed himself in the path of the train, at which time he was struck,” police said.

A Brightline spokesman would only comment that Thursday night’s incident “was an intentional act by an individual who laid on the tracks.”

The train resumed service after 9 p.m.

Police spokeswoman Jennifer Bickhardt said she doesn’t have specifics on the man’s injuries, but said he is being treated in the hospital and is expected to recover. She said although trespassers could be charged, no charges are expected in this case.

Police haven’t released the name of the man, who they said is a resident of the Salvation Army in Fort Lauderdale.

lhuriash@sunsentinel.com, 954-572-2008 or Twitter @LisaHuriash