Overview
- A Brightline train hit a car at the Sunrise Boulevard and Flagler Drive crossing early Monday, officers and witnesses said, dragging the vehicle several hundred feet before it stopped near NE Flagler Drive.
- Multiple witnesses and surveillance video show the crossing arms were down and a driver went around them before the impact, a detail that reporters and emergency crews are using as a focus of the investigation.
- A bystander, identified as Victor Carvalho, jumped a fence, called 911, provided first aid at the scene and said he found the woman conscious and in obvious pain when he reached her.
- Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue found the driver beside her damaged car and took her to Broward Health Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries; her husband later said she was in good spirits and expected to undergo surgery Monday.
- Brightline did not immediately comment but reiterated that going around lowered crossing arms is illegal and dangerous, and Fort Lauderdale police said they are continuing to investigate the cause and circumstances of the crash.