Sun Sentinel: Driver was following other car 'too closely' before Brightline crash, Sheriff's Office says

By: Annie Geggis, Sun Sentinel

A Brightline train struck a pickup truck Friday in Dania Beach — the second train-related crash this week in Broward County that appears to have occurred because the crossing arms came down as the vehicles crossed the tracks.

The pickup driver received minor injuries in the 1 p.m. crash on Friday at the crossing at Phippen Waiters Road and Dixie Highway. The driver was not hurt enough to go to the hospital, said Battalion Chief Michael Kane, of Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue.

It was not that the driver was trying to beat the train, as has happened in other accidents, Kane said.

“As a consequence of following [the vehicle in front] too closely, the train struck the vehicle that was on the track when the railroad crossing arms came down,” Kane said.

Brightline officials disagreed with Kane’s account, however, saying damage to the train suggests the driver was trying to beat the train.

Still, the Sheriff’s Office reminded the public to be vigilant at the crossings.

“Don’t ever stop your vehicle on the railroad tracks and allow any vehicle in front of you to clear the gate before you start driving through,” Kane said.

Friday’s crash happened as the pickup headed east on Phippen Waiters Road and the train was heading south, Kane said.

Earlier this week, a Pompano Beach woman was taken to the hospital after a Brightline train struck the car she was driving. On Tuesday, she was trying to make it through a light when the guardrails came down…