Woman killed in Brightline crash had stopped her car on train tracks at red light

POMPANO BEACH — A driver killed in a crash with a Brightline train in Pompano Beach Tuesday night had stopped her car on the tracks while waiting at a red light “for unknown reasons,” deputies say.

She was identified Friday as Melissa Ordonez, a 42-year-old Miramar woman.

Ordonez was driving a Lexus SUV down West Atlantic Boulevard about 9:30 p.m., approaching the tracks at the intersection with Dixie Highway, according to a Broward Sheriff ’s

Office media release. As the traffic light turned red, she stopped her car beyond the stop bar, on the tracks.

As the Brightline train approached, the safety lights, bells and gates activating, Ordonez remained on the tracks “for unknown reasons,” the release said.

The train engineer saw the Lexus and hit the emergency brakes, but it was too late. The front of the train hit the driver side of the car in a T-bone collision, pushing it through the crossing and over the tracks before it stopped north of the crossing.

BSO deputies and paramedics with Pompano

Beach Fire Rescue arrived and pronounced Ordonez dead on scene. Traffic homicide detectives are still investigating, according to the release.

“Investigators remind pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists to stop, look and listen when crossing railroad tracks,” the release states. “When a train is approaching, never go around the lowered safety arms and don’t stop on the tracks. Do not underestimate the speed of the train. It may be traveling faster and be closer than you think. Even if the train engineer sees you, he or she will not be able to stop in time.”