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New cameras coming to Brightline train crossing
New cameras are coming to a Brightline train crossing in Melbourne after three people died in two separate crashes at the same crossing.
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Brightline has announced the installation of new cameras at an intersection where two deadly crashes happened back-to-back in Melbourne.
The cameras are being installed at the crossing along the U.S. 1 corridor near W.H. Jackson, past downtown Melbourne following two crashes that happened back-to-back on January 10 and January 12.
The first crash claimed the life of 62-year-old Charles Julian Phillip and injured three others. The second crash left two people dead – 52-year-old Lisa Ann Batchelder and Michael Anthony Degasperi.
According to law enforcement, in both instances, the drivers tried to outrun the trains.
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Second deadly crash involving Brightline train
A Brightline train collided with a truck at an intersection in Melbourne on Friday afternoon, leaving two dead, officials said. It is at the exact same location where a man was killed and three injured when their SUV struck a passing train. Authorities said both drivers were attempting to outrun the train and drove between the crossing arms.
The cameras will take a picture if someone goes around crossing arms. Anyone caught violating the law will get a warning in the mail and their information will be sent to law enforcement.
The three deaths in Melbourne in January mark at least 108 since it began operations in July 2017. That’s one death for approximately every 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers) its trains travel, the worst death rate among the nation’s more than 800 railroads, an ongoing Associated Press analysis that began in 2019 shows.
Among U.S. railroads that log at least 100,000 train miles a year, the next-worst rate since 2017 belongs to California’s Caltrain commuter line. Caltrain has averaged one death for every 125,000 miles (201,000 kilometers) traveled during that period.
None of Brightline’s previous deaths are the railroad’s fault. Most have been suicides, pedestrians who tried to run across the tracks ahead of the train, or drivers who maneuvered around crossing gates rather than wait.