A Brightline train hit a fire truck in Delray Beach, Florida on Saturday morning, sending 15 people to the hospital, including three firefighters and 12 passengers. Thankfully, while the crash was serious, most of the injuries sustained from it were minor, and no one has died, BocaNewsNow reports. Three people were, however, listed in critical condition following the collision.
Why was the fire truck on the tracks in the first place? Apparently, it was responding to a call at the time and waited at the crossing near the intersection of E Atlantic Avenue and Railroad Avenue for a cargo train to pass. The driver then drove around the gates, which were still down, unaware that the Brightline train was also coming down the tracks from the opposite direction. Brightline has since released a video that backs up this claim.
So far this year, Brightline trains have killed at least five people in Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach Post reports. That includes two people who were killed along the same section of the track where Saturday’s collision occurred. Delray Beach police and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash with a specific focus on the radio communications between the fire truck and the Palm Beach County dispatch center, BocaNewsNow reports.
While it’s unlikely that Brightline will be ruled directly at fault — after all, there was no way anyone on the train could have known an emergency vehicle would drive around the crossing gates — its trains also have a long history of being involved in a disproportionate number of deadly crashes. Its record of deaths per mile traveled is about triple that of the second-deadliest railroad. Part of the problem is that it runs trains at high speeds through notoriously flat Florida where they cross 178 rail street-level crossings over 66.5 miles.
Additionally, Brightline has a history of resisting safety recommendations. After all, why would a company spend any of its own money to ensure its products don’t kill as many people? That would be ridiculous. Then again, when you’re running massive trains at 80 mph through high-traffic areas at street level, there’s only so much that fencing and signs can really do.