NTSB issues preliminary report on fatal Brightline crash

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report on an accident involving a Brightline passenger train and a pickup truck that occurred Jan. 12 in Brevard, Florida.

According to the report, a pickup truck occupied by a driver and one passenger approached a grade crossing with the gates already lowered and the flashing lights and bells on. The truck then drove around the lowered gate and entered the crossing.

At the same time, the southbound Brightline train was traveling about 78 mph when it entered the crossing and struck the truck. The truck driver and passenger died.

The NTSB had collected information from a similar crash that occurred two days earlier involving a sport utility vehicle (SUV) occupied by a driver and three passengers. The SUV approached a crossing, then drove around a vehicle at the stop line behind the lowered gate and around the gate, striking the lead car of a Brightline train traveling north at about 68 mph. The driver of the SUV died and the passengers were seriously injured.

The Jan. 12 accident remains under investigation, with the intent to issue safety recommendations to prevent similar incidents, NTSB officials said in a news release. Future investigative activity will focus on factors that address crossing safety.