DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — A Brightline passenger shared his account of the harrowing moment when, authorities said, the train slammed into a fire truck in Delray Beach, sending more than a dozen people to the hospital, as multiple investigations into the weekend crash continue to unfold.
Speaking with 7News on Sunday, Zach Thrasher said he had no idea the train had hit something as big as a Delray Beach Fire Rescue truck on Saturday morning.
“We felt a hard brake and then an immediate violent impact. I was thrown into the table. There was a lot of momentum,” he said. “We knew we hit something, we knew we hit something significant. We thought initially it was a car. We had no idea it was a fire truck until a few minutes later.”
The truck appeared to drive across the tracks at Southeast First Street while the crossing gates were down and the high-speed train was fast approaching.
“I know the crossing arms were down. We saw they were still down, you know, after the fact,” said Thrasher.
The impact was so strong, it split the fire truck in two and threw its ladder several yards away.
Police said 15 people were hospitalized, including 12 passengers.
“Minor injuries to people on the Brightline train and three injuries to firefighters that have been transported to local hospitals,” said Delray Beach Police Sgt. Matt Saraceni with the department’s Traffic Homicide Unit.
The crash has now prompted more than one investigation as to who is at fault.
“We saw a cargo train go by first on our right side. I think the fire truck believed the cargo train was the only train. They tried to cross, didn’t see us, and we collided, basically,” said Thrasher.
In an X post Sunday morning, a spokesperson for Brightline responding to those saying the train should have stopped, writing:
“Due to the high speed of the train, it takes nearly a mile for a train to stop from the time it begins to brake, especially with consideration for the safety of the passengers on board.”
Brightline service appeared to be back to normal Sunday, after crews spent most of Saturday removing the truck from the tracks, piece by piece.
The three firefighters remain in the hospital in stable condition.
The crash remains under investigation by Delray Beach Police, Brightline and the National Transportation Safety Board.
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