Cars on train tracks leads to dramatic crash in Fort Lauderdale drinking district
A chaotic chain reaction erupted in Fort Lauderdale early Saturday morning when a train barreled into a mass of cars stopped on the tracks in a popular area for late-night drinking and music, sending people running, debris flying and panicked drivers veering toward a nearby bar.
Police say a woman was struck by a car in the panic and sent to the hospital for treatment.
Officers responded around 3:30 a.m. to the 200 block of Southwest Second Street, where three cars had stopped on the tracks. The train struck one vehicle. Two others crashed into each other as drivers attempted to move out of the way, according to police.
A video filmed by a driver in a car parallel to the tracks and posted to TikTok by user dabackendzbackup captured the tense moments before the collision. Multiple cars can be seen on the tracks in westbound traffic near the railroad crossing, trapped as traffic ahead creeps forward too slowly for them to escape. The crossing arms are already down, red lights flashing in warning.
Onlookers gather nearby, edging closer to see what’s unfolding. Within seconds, a train comes into view. Its horn is blaring. It slams into the back end of what appears to be a pickup truck, spinning it across the tracks. Shards of debris fly in every direction—one piece striking a woman as she tried to get away.
The camera then jerks to show the aftermath: a small group of shaken bystanders huddled together in shock, a black Chevrolet sedan shoved close to a nearby bar and another car left mangled from the impact. It is unclear from the video when the woman was hit by a car.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue took the woman to Broward Health Medical Center. Police have not released details on her condition.
Traffic in both directions was shut down from West Broward Boulevard to West Davie Boulevard until reopening around 6:20 a.m. with no remaining delays.
The front entrance to The Den Bar and Lounge, damaged in the chaos, was boarded up Saturday hours after the train had pushed on and the damaged vehicles had been removed. A car tire and a portion of a bumper lay strewn on grass near the tracks.
It is unclear what train was involved.
This story may be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published August 23, 2025 at 1:28 PM.