DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A high-speed passenger train crashed Saturday into a fire truck, pushing it onto its side, leaving at least three firefighters and multiple train passengers injured, authorities said.
The crash happened in crowded downtown Delray Beach, multiple news outlets reported. The Brightline train was stopped on the tracks, its front destroyed about a block away from the fire truck while the truck’s ladder was ripped off and strewn in the grass several yards away, The Sun-Sentinel reported.
Three firefighters and multiple Brightline passengers were injured, according to Delray Beach Police Traffic Sgt. Matt Saraceni. The first responders were conscious when transported to an area hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available. The train passengers had minor injuries, officials said.
Saraceni could not immediately say what caused the crash or where the fire truck was heading.
The National Transportation Safety Board is already investigating two crashes involving Brightline’s high-speed trains that killed three people at the same crossing early this year along the railroad’s route between Miami and Orlando.
Railroad safety has been a concern since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023, spilling toxic chemicals that caught fire. Regulators urged the industry to improve safety and members of Congress proposed a package of reforms, but railroads haven’t made many major changes to their operations and the bill has stalled.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.