High-Speed Train Collides With Fire Truck In FL, 15 Injured

DELRAY BEACH, FL — Three firefighters and 12 others were injured Saturday when a Brightline train collided with a fire truck in Delray Beach, according to officials.

The collision occurred at 10:45 a.m. at a crossing near East Atlantic and Railroad Avenues, Delray Beach Fire Rescue said in a news release.

The train remained stopped on the tracks Saturday afternoon, its front crushed, about a block away from a mangled fire truck, split in half and lying on its side, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. The fire truck's ladder was ripped off and lay in the grass several yards away.

According to officials, the injured firefighters were taken to a local hospital, where they remain in stable condition. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue took 12 train passengers to the hospital with minor injuries.

It's unclear what caused the collision. The Delray Beach Police Department and officials from Brightline are investigating.

A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board told The Associated Press that agency is still gathering information about Saturday’s crash and hasn’t decided yet whether it will investigate.

The NTSB 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.

More than 100 people have died after being hit by trains since Brightline began operations in July 2017 — giving the railroad the worst death rate in the nation. But most of those deaths have been either suicides, pedestrians who tried to run across the tracks ahead of the train or drivers who went around crossing gates instead of waiting for a train to pass. Brightline hasn’t been found to be at fault in those previous deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.