DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — WPTV is working to answer a question on many people's minds: why was a fire truck on the tracks at a railroad crossing when it was struck by a Brightline train?
The collision left 15 people injured, including three firefighters.
When gates go down at the Southeast First Street crossing, where the incident occurred Saturday morning, the arms block off traffic headed toward the crossing.
However, it does not block traffic headed away from the crossing to stop vehicles from attempting to go around the gate.
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Brightline passenger describes moment train hit fire truck
Investigators from Delray Beach police, Brightline and the National Transportation Safety Board are all working to figure out if that played a role in Saturday's crash.
All of the agencies are expected to talk with the conductor of the train, the driver of the fire truck and witnesses.
"I saw a very scary collision," said witness Christophe Lirola, who saw the crash from his apartment porch a block away.
He said a freight train had just passed the intersection when the Brightline train — headed in the opposite direction — hit the fire truck.
WPTV asked Lirola if he saw what the fire truck did before the collision.
"I saw the fire truck wait for the freight train to go by," Lirola said. "It started to try to get around the arms and eventually it was sliced in two by the Brightline."
Video from Brightline leading up to the impact showed the crossing gates were down at Southeast First Street, blocking traffic when the fire truck attempted to cross.
WPTV Investigates
Why do collisions involving Brightline trains continue?
Delray Beach Fire Rescue officials said there was an emergency in the area but have not said if the truck on the tracks was responding to it.
The Delray Beach Employee Safety Manual for drivers does not refer to train crossings, only saying city workers are expected to drive city vehicles, "in a safe conscientious manner."
Two days after the crash, inspectors from the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida East Coast Railway said they were at the intersection to make sure the actual tracks were safe.
A city spokeswoman texted WPTV that the fire department won't likely have more information until the investigation is complete.
The National Transportation Safety Board traditionally issues preliminary reports on train crashes within 30 days of an incident similar to this one.
