Brightline: Fatality possible suicide
A pedestrian died after being struck by a Brightline train in Delray Beach Sunday afternoon, police said, in what company officials said appeared to be a suicide.
“From initial information gathered, it appears today’s incident was a suicide,” a Brightline spokesperson said. “Brightline continues working with the local authorities.”
Delray Beach police were not immediately characterizing the nature of Sunday’s incident in public statements.
The fatality is believed to be the fifth involving a Brightline train and the fourth in Palm Beach County, in incidents that include fatalities ruled as suicides as well as pedestrians trying to beat trains while crossing tracks. At least four others, on foot or in a vehicle, have suffered injuries but survived.
The male pedestrian, who was not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene about 100 feet south of the Southeast Fourth Street crossing, accord-
ing to police.
The Brightline train was traveling north when the incident occurred about 12:47 p.m.
Any witnesses are being urged to call Delray Beach Police Detective Joseph Hart at 561-243-7800.
Brightline’s passenger express trains are using Florida East Coast Railway tracks to run at speeds up to 79 mph up to 22 times a day through Palm Beach County coastal communities. That’s faster and more frequent than the freight trains that have been the main users of those tracks for the past 50 years.
Last July, during testing, an 18-year-old woman was killed in Boca Raton. Her death was ruled a suicide.
A Brightline train was involved in a fatal crash Nov. 1 in Deerfield Beach. There were no passengers on the train when it hit and killed a 35-year-old woman.
A 51-year-old man on a bicycle and a 32-year-old woman on foot died in separate January incidents less than a week apart in Boynton Beach. Both tried to beat oncoming trains though crossing gates had lowered, according to police.