On January 29th, Melbourne Police responded to the railroad crossing at Materson St and US1 for a vehicle crash. When they arrived, they discovered a white Scion with front-end damage sitting on the tracks with the driver of the vehicle missing.
Witnesses described the driver as an older white male, approximately 250 lbs who fled north on Avacado Avenue on foot. Melbourne Police began a search for the driver with the assistance of Brevard County Sheriff’s Office STAR helicopter.
A southbound Brightline train came within feet of striking the abandoned vehicle, but was able to stop just in time. As Melbourne Police shut down the intersection to allow a tow truck to remove the vehicle, another Brightline train traveling north could be heard approaching the scene.
As we captured on our Facebook Live, the northbound train did not stop, but continued forward coming within inches of the vehicles. One of the crossing arms struck the tow truck when it was activated for the approaching train. Once the vehicle was removed, the southbound train quickly resumed its travel.