Man dead after Brightline train slams into vehicle in Palm Beach County, deputies say
A man died on the scene after a Brightline train smashed into a vehicle Sunday afternoon in Lake Worth Beach, according to authorities.
Deputies responded to the 1200 block of 17th Avenue North at 4:07 p.m., finding Hidegalde Perez inside of a Ford Fusion that was struck by the train, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Herald Sunday in an email.
As the railroad signal lights were flashing, police said Monday in a news release that the 48-year-old from West Palm Beach drove around the railroad’s safety arms, which were in the down position.
Brightline train deaths on the rise
This is at least the eighth reported fatality involving Brightline since the train returned to regular service in November after a 19-month pandemic hiatus.
In late January, a man died after being hit by a Brightline train in Hollywood as he tried to cross the tracks. On Jan. 4, a Brightline train struck and killed a pedestrian in Boynton Beach.
And at least four of the rail operator’s fatal crashes in South Florida happened in December.
On Dec. 30, a 68-year-old man and his sister were killed after police say he attempted to drive across railroad tracks in Aventura while the safety gates were in the down position.
Just a few weeks prior, a woman in her 70s was struck and killed Dec. 13 by a Brightline train in Fort Lauderdale. Two days earlier, a pedestrian died by suicide in Hollywood.
A pedestrian was struck and killed the week before that by a Brightline train Dec. 7 in North Miami Beach.
Brightline’s increasing fatalities mean it has caused more deaths per mile traveled than any other major rail operator in the country, according to a recent Miami Herald analysis of Federal Railroad Administration data on deaths not involving rail employees or passengers.
Brightline trains on average killed a pedestrian or motorist for roughly every 37,000 miles traveled or every 600 trips in the past four years between West Palm Beach and Miami, according to the analysis.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published February 13, 2022 at 6:14 PM.
