DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A Delray Beach Fire Rescue employee faces a traffic citation for his role in a crash between a firetruck and a Brightline train, according to Palm Beach County court records.
The investigation report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, which WPTV received from a public records request, reveals new details about the December crash, including the three injured firefighters’ perspectives of the crash.
WATCH: Investigation offers new details about what happened before and after crash
The report is also the first official narrative on how a Brightline train hit a firetruck while the crossing arms were down on Dec. 28, 2024.
According to the report, the firetruck was waiting for a freight train to pass the tracks while responding to a fire at a high-rise structure. Once the train passed, the truck drove onto the track while the crossing arms were down, and the driver was unaware another train was about to pass through the intersection.
The report said the train was traveling at 75 mph prior to the crash, but the operator activated the emergency breaks to slow down the train prior to the crash.
FIREFIGHTERS ON THE TRUCK
Driving Engineer David Wyatt, Captain Brian Fiorey and Joseph Fiumara III were on the firetruck, according to the report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The report said Fiorey had serious injuries to his leg requiring the implantation of a metal rod within his bone. Fiorey, according to the report, said in an interview at the hospital he had no further recollection of the crash other than getting into the firetruck to respond to a fire at a high-rise apartment.
According to the report, Wyatt told an officer from the Delray Beach Police Department at the hospital that the last thing he remembered was a train going by from north to south. He told the officer the next thing he remembered was Lieutenant Shaw asking him to call his wife, then he noticed he was in the hospital.
Delray Beach
No set cost for Brightline-fire truck investigation
Letters WPTV obtained from a public records request show both Fiorey and Wyatt are on paid administrative leave related to the crash. The investigation report shows Joseph Fiumara was also on the firetruck during the crash, but he was not placed on administrative leave. WPTV asked the city of Delray Beach the rationale for not putting Fiumara on paid administrative leave, but the city didn’t respond to the inquiry, along with past requests for an interview with Fire Rescue Chief Ronald Martin.
Fiumara told Delray Beach police at the hospital that he saw a train crossing the railroad tracks, according to the investigation report. The report also said Fiumara unbuckled his seatbelt and utilized the time to put on his equipment. It also said Fiumara was unsure if he put his seatbelt back on and did not remember the crash.
According to the report, Fiumara said he recalled climbing out of the firetruck after the crash occurred. The report also said Fiumara said he assisted removing Driving Engineer Wyatt from the firetruck, who was unconscious, after he climbed out of the truck. Fiumara said he was sitting in the left rear seat of the truck.
Wyatt was charged last Friday with a traffic citation related to the crash. According to the investigation report, Wyatt did not use “due care,” in that he did not identify the oncoming Brightline train. The report found the train engineer did not contribute to the causation to the crash.
