AVENTURA, FLA. (WSVN) - - Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue responded to a collision involving a Brightline train and a gray Nissan sedan in Aventura.
The incident occurred at Southwest 11th Street and the railroad tracks near the Miami-Dade/Broward County line, Monday, at around 3 p.m.
Surveillance video from a nearby business shows the car travelling south on Dixie Highway and swerving around a railroad gate before being hit by the northbound Brightline.
“I was inside, and I heard the impact, big noise. It’s not the first time there was an accident in this intersection, and she’s lucky she’s alive,” said Auto Star Owner Benny Roiter. “I saw the mess, and I was like, ‘Wow.'”
The northbound train stopped on the tracks north of the crash scene but has since continued on its route.
7Skyforce hovered above the crash where the driver could be seen being transported to the hospital under a trauma alert.
The vehicle was completely destroyed with front and rear damage and has been removed from the scene by investigators.
Debris, pieces of the car, were strewn along the railroad tracks.
“Yeah, and she walked out from the car,” said Roiter. “Thank God she didn’t get hit, only the engine compartment.”
“She was hurt. She said, ‘Call mom, call mom, call mom.’ She’s really, really, really lucky that she made it,” said witness Carl McCloud. “She was just trying to beat the train. That’s it. She went around a row of traffic just to get through the train and that was that.”
“People crossing thinking they’re going to do it fast, but they can’t go fast,” said Roiter.
City of Aventura officers are investigating the incident.
As to why the driver attempted to swerve around the gate, that remains unknown at this time.
The condition of the driver also remains unknown, but witnesses said she was conscious and alert when she was transported to the hospital.
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