Two people were transported to the hospital after a Brightline train struck a Ford Explorer that stopped on the tracks in Miami early Thursday morning.
At around 8:30 a.m., City of Miami Police and Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene of the crash along North Miami Avenue and 20th Street.
According to witness Nickolas Delovata, the driver stopped as the guard rails came down, hitting the vehicle shortly before the train came.
Delovata told WSVN "the car was stuck in between the guard rails, and the train saw it from a long distance away, was honking it’s horn."
Despite the warning, the driver didn't move and the SUV was struck.
Two of the three occupants were able to get out of the vehicle on their own; the third had to be removed from the vehicle by first responders.
City of Miami Fire Rescue spokesman Pete Sanchez told WSVN “immediately we made access into the vehicle, which had one male victim inside. We were able to remove him from the rear of the hatchback because the crossguard arm had impaled itself into the window of the vehicle. The two other passengers had self-extricated themselves when we arrived, and we assessed all three on the scene.”
Two people were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital with injuries that were non life-threatening.
Thursday’s collision marks the fifth accident involving Brightline trains since the rail reopened in December.