Melbourne to discuss $45M worth of upgrades to railroad crossings after pair of deadly Brightline crashes
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Melbourne's mayor said the city’s railroad crossings would get $45 million worth of upgrades after two vehicles collided with Brightline trains, leading to three deaths.
Among the victims was 52-year-old Lisa Ann Batchelder. Her father, Roger, recalled what it was like when the police came to his door.
"They told me to sit down," he said. "They said Lisa Batchelder has been involved in an accident yesterday, and she didn't survive. I just fell apart."
On Jan. 12, Lisa and passenger Michael Anthony Degasperi were killed when their vehicle collided with a Brightline train in Melbourne. Two days earlier, 62-year-old Charles Julian Phillips was killed when the vehicle he was driving hit the train at the same crossing. Roger Batchelder said he and Lisa were close.
"Lisa was very independent. Very loyal with her friends, I noticed that, and she was closest with me and the family. We have a bond because we have similar personalities."
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Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey said the Brightline train had changed things for the city. "You have five or six times more trains coming, but they're a lot faster," he said.
After meeting with Brightline officials on Thursday, he said the crossings would get $45 million worth of safety upgrades. Some $10 million would come from Brightline directly, and the rest through grants. He said they also planned to install red light cameras for the gates. They planned to discuss all of this at the next city council meeting on Tuesday.
Alfrey said there were lots of ways to improve safety.
"It's not only the quad gates, but there's bollards that you could use, concrete curbs, different things that keep people in the lane. Not to mention different systems that alert drivers or trains, so they've done this in South Florida, so it's something they've brought here."