Police identify Maserati driver killed in train collision

Conductor treated for smoke inhalation after trying to extinguish fire

OAKLAND PARK — The driver who died in a collision with a speeding passenger train in Oakland Park has been identified.

Clivet Romero, 46, of Oakland Park, was killed instantly when his 2014 white Maserati was struck by a Brightline train about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, the Broward Sheriff ’s Office said.

He was traveling north on Dixie Highway when he turned east onto Northeast 34th Court and approached the Florida East Coast railroad crossing. All four crossing gates were down with warning bells clanging and red lights flashing, investigators said.

As a freight train approached from the north and a Brightline train approached from the south, Romero bypassed the crossing gates and cleared the first track but ended up in the path of the northbound Brightline train, officials said.

The rear end of the Maserati got wedged under the Brightline engine and burst into flames as the train dragged the wreckage past the railroad crossing at Northeast 38th Street, investigators said.

The train’s conductor tried to extinguish the fire that scorched the front of the engine. He was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. There were no other reported injuries, officials said. An investigation is ongoing. The Brightline passenger service is being re-branded as Virgin Trains USA. The trains travel at up to 79 mph between stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Along with Tri-Rail and freight trains, Brightline has attracted its share of news coverage and regulatory scrutiny for the number of people killed and injured while walking, riding bicycles, or driving vehicles across the tracks.

WAYNE K. ROUSTAN/SUN SENTINEL Clivet Romero, 46, of Oakland Park, was killed when his Maserati was struck by a Brightline passenger train, investigators said.