Father of four killed after pickup truck, Brightline train collide in Pompano Beach
A 27-year-old father of four was killed Monday after he drove his pickup truck on to the railroad tracks and was struck by a Brightline train in Pompano Beach.
The crash happened near the intersection of Northwest Sixth Street and North Dixie Highway around 5:39 a.m, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
Pompano Beach Fire Rescue took Jacob Bresnahan to the hospital, where he died, deputies said.
Helicopter video taken by TV news shows the wrecked car on the tracks, with the truck’s body separated from its frame. A Brightline train with what appeared to be a white sheet covering the front of it was nearby. There was also a stopped freight train in the area.
Surveillance video obtained by WSVN shows Bresnahan briefly pause at the gate, which appears to be down, a sign that a train is coming, before driving on to the tracks. Then the crash happened.
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“Jake Bresnahan was bigger than life itself. As big as Jake was, his heart was bigger ... Jake was an amazing father, son, brother, fiancé and friend. You could count on Jake…100% of the time. He had a heart of gold, and no one was more loyal,” reads a GoFundMe page created Monday by Bresnahan’s best friend to raise funds for his children’s education. The GoFundMe page has raised more than $84,000.
Bresnahan leaves behind a fiancée, two children (3-year-old Parker and 2-year-old Jackson), two stepchildren (a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old) and a baby that’s expected to be born in September, according to the wife of his best friend.
BSO traffic homicide is investigating.
READ MORE: See video and a timeline of Brightline crashes: How and where did they happen?
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 7:27 AM.
