DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A crash between a Brightline train and a Delray Beach Fire Rescue truck last year has sparked an internal investigation by Fire Rescue.
The basis of the investigation surrounds several employees having suspended licenses during their employment with the department, but the agency didn't identify the issue until January 2025 because staff focused only on the “current status” of an employee’s license during a review.
Vice mayor tells WPTV investigation should lead to new policy
The investigation found the driver of the firetruck, David Wyatt, who tried crossing the tracks as the arm guards were down, and was then hit by the train, previously had his driver’s license suspended while employed with the department.
In the report, Wyatt had his license suspended for more than three months in 2023. He was encouraged to attend a driving class but did not, because he said he was, "Just being lazy and forgetting." During that time, the report states "he operated a city vehicle while having a suspended license."
Four other firefighters are also listed in the report, and they too had their licenses suspended at some point during their employment. The reasoning for their suspensions were either for traffic tickets or lapses in their insurance payments.
When presented with the findings of the report, Delray Beach Vice Mayor Juli Casale admitted, “It did give us insight into where we're failing, and we are failing in a lot of the departments.”
Multiple fire rescue employees drove with suspended licenses
Casale says change needs to happen in the current way driver’s licenses are checked by the fire department. The report explains Delray Beach Fire Rescue relies on an "annual (DMV) report which might not reflect current license statuses if changes occurred after the report was generated."
“I think we probably need a policy to make sure people self-report to us with documentation on a regular basis,” Casale believes moving forward. Which is essentially what the findings highlight in the investigation, stating there are "significant gaps" in the department’s procedures and suggests the "need for clearer communication and enforcement of reporting requirements for license suspensions."
“We do have a new chief, and I have all the confidence in him, and I'm hopeful that he will rework the policies so that they benefit the taxpayers,” said Casale.
