Photo: (WSVN)
A woman was injured after her car was struck by a Brightline train at a crossing in Fort Lauderdale, dragging her car hundreds of feet, officials and witnesses said.
Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the overnight crash at the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Flagler Drive, early Monday morning.
Fire rescue officials said they received a 911 call reporting an accident involving a vehicle and a southbound Brightline train, just before midnight on Sunday.
Witness C said he saw the train arms coming down, and then the woman, who was driving the car, went around the arms in an attempt to beat the train.
“There was a car that came in and just went through the railings,” he said.
Sadly, C said, the driver was unable to avoid the impact.
“And then ‘boom.’ Brightline just smashed the car,” he said. “You just hear a loud boom, and as you come see it through, a lot of sparks just flying past by.”
Surveillance video captured the moment of impact, as well as the sparks.
Officials said the woman’s vehicle was dragged several hundred feet down the railway, until the train came to a stop near the 400 block of Northeast Flagler Drive.
Shocked by what he saw, C said he then sprang into action.
“I immediately went and ran towards the action. I jumped over the fence, called 911, make sure that I locate them to the scene, and as I see, the lady opens her door for herself,” he said. “So I go out, I help her, I get her on the floor, make sure that she’s sitting up, because if she does fall and lay on the floor, she has a chance of passing out.”
Cameras show that the only part in the mangled car that wasn’t completely damaged was the victim’s car seat and part of the front.
“It’s insane. She’s so lucky to live and be able to tell her story,”Said witness M. “People don’t get that lucky very often.”
“She was just screaming at the top of her lungs, and I can understand, ’cause of the amount of pain and suffering that she’s feeling,” said C. “Obviously she’s in a panic. I’m just trying to calm her down; she had her entire half of her arm which was broken, it was just like a flop, and her whole jawline, which is disfigured, so thank God that she managed to survive.”
First responders arrived to find the victim on the ground next to her vehicle. She was transported to Broward Health Medical Center with injuries that are serious but not life-threatening.
Ironically, C said, he’d just taken a first aid course this past week, and he never expected to apply what he learned so soon.
“I’m really happy that she’s actually alive. Thank God for herself and her well-being,” he said.
The woman’s husband came to the scene of the crash hours later to collect some of her belongings. He told 7News she is in good spirits and expected to undergo surgery for her fractured arm sometime on Monday.
Fort Lauderdale Police continue to investigate this crash.
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Source: Wsvn
