1 person dead when high speed train hits car in Florida
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — One person died Tuesday morning when a car was hit by a high speed train in South Florida, officials said.
The Brightline train, which operates between Miami and West Palm Beach, struck the car at an intersection in Pompano Beach about 10:12 a.m. Tuesday, said sheriff's spokeswoman Gerdy St. Louis. One person was confirmed dead.
Witnesses to the crash said the vehicle went around the guard rails, a Brightline spokesman told The Associated Press.
More than 40 people have been killed by the train, which travels at speeds up to 79 mph (127 kph) through some of Florida's most densely populated cities, according to records. An analysis of data by The Associated Press in December found the death rate is about one for every 29,000 miles (47,000 kilometers) the trains have traveled, which is the worst per-mile death rate of the nation's 821 railroads.
An investigation is underway. No additional details were immediately available.
Pompano Beach is north of Fort Lauderdale.
