Investigation Underway for Two Brightline Train Crashes in a Single Week

After two fatal crashes at the same intersection, in the same week, Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey said its time to beef up safety measures at the Brightline crossings. Check out the photo by Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey on Facebook

Jan. 13 (UPI) — The site of two separate vehicle-train collisions in Melbourne, Florida are under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

On Friday, Melbourne police responded to a crash involving a Chevrolet pickup truck and a Brightline train. Tragically, the two passengers in the pickup truck died in the collision.

Just two days earlier, a Honda SUV struck a Brightline train at the same crossing. The SUV had four passengers, and the driver was killed in the collision. Both vehicles were traveling west on WH Jackson Street.

The NTSB announced on Twitter that it is sending a team to conduct a safety investigation with Melbourne police into the nature of the incidents.

Raising concern, Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey said he witnessed the vehicle try to outrun the train at the scene of Friday’s collision. He’s urging drivers on Facebook to follow safety signals when coming to a train crossing.

“I want to remind everyone that you cannot win against a train,” Alfrey said in the post.

Florida’s high-speed rail, Brightline, offers passenger service between Miami and Orlando and passes through Melbourne.

Unfortunately, two other fatal incidents occurred at another crossing in Melbourne since the service launched in September. Two female pedestrians were struck and killed in October and December near Aurora Road and Cypress Avenue, police said.

In response to the mounting fatalities, Alfrey said the city and Brightline need to ramp up their outreach and enhance barriers to make it more difficult for people to bypass them.  » …
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