Feds Probe Spate of Brightline Crash Deaths in Melbourne

Federal authorities have opened an investigation into a pair of Brightline crashes that killed three people at a Florida railroad crossing last week.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it would be investigating two deadly crashes that took place at the same crossing along U.S. 1 in Melbourne, where the high-speed train zooms through on its daily route from South Florida to Orlando.

On Wednesday, January 10, 62-year-old driver Charles Julian Phillips was killed and three of his passengers were injured when a train slammed into his car. Two days later, 52-year-old Lisa Ann Batchelder and 54-year-old Michael Anthony Degasperi were killed when the train struck their vehicle in the same spot.

Surveillance video shows that the crossing has a common setup whereby one gate blocks lanes of oncoming traffic but leaves a gap around the remaining lanes. The video and preliminary reports from Melbourne police indicate that the two vehicles drove around the gate before colliding with the trains, a frequent cause of railway crashes at intersections without so-called "quad gates," which block the entire span of a crossing.

Since Brightline launched its long-awaited service to Orlando in September (which was delayed after a pedestrian was killed by the high-speed train), five people have been killed in Brightline collisions, according to the Associated Press.

The NTSB, a federal agency that investigates significant transportation incidents, said it was sending a team to conduct a safety investigation into the January 12 "fatal grade crossing crash," which will include surveying the crash history, including the January 10 incident, according to ABC News.

"Investigators will work to better understand the safety issues at this crossing and will examine opportunities to prevent or mitigate these crashes in the future," the NTSB said.

A preliminary report is set to be released within a month, and final findings within a year or two.

After the second incident, Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey urged drivers to follow safety measures at train crossings, writing in a Facebook post: "When the arm is down, don't go around!"

"I have spoken to Brightline officials and we will be ramping up a public safety campaign," Alfrey wrote in a post. "There is no good outcome against a train!"

Alfrey and Brightline reportedly discussed the possibility of installing quad gates at the crossing to prevent drivers from illegally maneuvering across the railroad.
Brightline has not responded to New Times' request for comment.

The deadliest train per mile in America, according to the Associated Press, Brightline has killed more than 100 people in the years since its 2017 debut. New Times logged more than 35 pedestrian and motorist deaths caused by collisions with the company's trains since January 2022 (See: "Death Train: A Timeline of Brightline Fatalities").

A majority of the incidents involved pedestrians, some of whom police say died by suicide.

A month after Brightline expanded service to Orlando, Melbourne had its first death from a Brightline accident, when a 60-year-old pedestrian was hit by a train.

In August 2022, Brightline announced a $45 million federally funded project entailing the construction of "at least 33 miles of pedestrian protection features and supplemental safety measures." Brightline said it would upgrade its railway with fencing, better safety signage, and raised pavement markers, among other upgrades stretching from Brevard to Miami-Dade counties.

The company said in June 2023 that it had "made crucial safety improvements at all 156 railroad crossings along the 129-mile corridor from Cocoa to West Palm Beach." In areas where trains operated at more than 79 miles per hour, quad gates or medians were installed to prevent motorists from driving around lowered gate arms, the company said.