"I Am Thankful I Am Alive" Says Woman Whose Car Was Hit By Brightline Train
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Brightline train collided with a car on the tracks in Hallandale Beach.
The woman whose car was demolished in the accident tells CBS4 News that "I am thankful I am alive."
A woman was trying to cross the tracks at Dixie Highway and Pembroke Road when she made a wrong turn onto the tracks.
She was trying to turn onto Dixie Highway and mistook the tracks for the road. It was when she tried to turn off the tracks that her car got stuck.
The woman got out of the car and reportedly called 911 in hopes that would notify Brightline that her car was on the tracks.
Five minutes later a train slammed into her car, pushing it about half a mile.
Surveillance tape shows the car being dragged 500 feet.
On Wednesday night, that owner of the car spoke with CBS4's Peter D'Oench.
In English, 65-year-old Margarita Hall told him, "I was going to see a friend and I had trouble seeing."
Hall, who lives near the railroad tracks, speaks very little English and through a translator she said in Spanish that when her car got stuck on the tracks, "I screamed and nobody wanted to help me. I did not know what to do. I knew the train was going to come by. I put the car in drive. The back tire was struck on the track."
The operator of the Brightline train saw her vehicle but was not able to stop in time.
Hall said, "I am thankful I am alive. I don't know. Maybe I blacked out. I was crossing the street. I don't know what happened."
Hallandale Beach Police released a 911 call from a resident who told a dispatcher, "It's just south of Pembroke and Dixie, just south of Pembroke Road and Dixie. There's a lady. He car is stuck on the track. It's a silver car."
This is not the first incident for Brightline, whose trains travel near 80 mph in between stops.
There have been several deaths from people being struck by their trains and a number of accidents.
Due to this, the company launched a safety campaign reminding drivers to steer clear of the tracks when the warning signals flash.
"We're in the middle of a city and people are not used to it, there are a lot of tourists in the area, we are very close to the beach and a lot of people come here who are not used to this kind of a train," said Brightline CEO Patrick Goddard.
Some people have called for stricter safety measures for the tri-county high-speed rail.
Fortunately on Wednesday, there were no reported injuries and the more than 20 passengers on Brightline were placed on another train.