NTSB investigates two Brightline train crashes at same Florida crossing

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the site of two separate vehicle-train collisions that occurred this week in Melbourne, Fla.

Melbourne police on Friday said they responded to a crash involving a Chevrolet pickup truck and a Brightline train. The two passengers in the pickup truck died in the collision, the report said.

Police said a Honda SUV struck a Brightline train at the same crossing just two days prior. The SUV had four passengers, and the driver was killed in the collision. Both vehicles were traveling west on WH Jackson Street.

The NTSB in a Saturday post on X said it is sending a team to conduct a safety investigation with Melbourne police into the nature of the incidents.

Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey at the scene of Friday's collision said he saw the vehicle try to outrun the train. He urged drivers on Facebook to follow safety signals when coming to a train crossing.

"I want to remind everyone that you cannot win against a train," Alfrey said in the post.

Brightline, Florida's high-speed rail, offers passenger service between Miami and Orlando and passes through Melbourne.

Since the service launched in September, two other fatal incidents occurred at another crossing in Melbourne. Two female pedestrians were struck and killed in October and December near Aurora Road and Cypress Avenue, police said.

Brightline ran a public safety campaign ahead of last year's launch, but with more fatalities piling up, Alfrey said the city and Brightline need to ramp up their outreach and enhance barriers to make it more difficult for people to bypass them.