INDIAN RIVER COUNTY −A woman was struck by a passenger Brightline train while walking on railroad tracks Thursday evening, a law enforcement official said.
Deputies administered first aid to the unidentified woman who sustained a severe arm injury and who was still conscious during her transport to a nearby trauma center, an Indian River County Sheriff’s Office official said.
Database: Brightline train incidents on the Treasure Coast
The incident occurred around 6 p.m. in an area of tracks north of the 12th Street railroad crossing behind a Publix grocery store and shopping plaza.
The woman was with another person said to be her boyfriend and the two were walking to a nearby homeless encampment, said Sgt. Kevin Jaworski. The man was uninjured, he said.
Detectives are working alongside investigative teams from the high-speed rail provider, Brightline, and railway owner, Florida East Coast Railway.
The quad gates stretch across 12th Street in Indian River County as a Brightline train passes on October 12, 2023.
“They’ll work to determine the cause of the crash,” said Jaworski. “At first glance, it appears the subjects were trespassing on the railroad tracks when the crash occurred.”
A homeless encampment was previously in the vegetated area west of the tracks, but it was cleared by law enforcement and marked with no-trespassing signs when Brightline began service from Orlando to Miami in 2023.
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The two were suspected of intoxication, Jaworski said.
The identities were not provided by law enforcement, but both were said to be adults.
There is no suspicion of foul play.
Deputies used an agency-issued trauma kit and tourniquet on the woman’s arm, which was described as nearly severed.
Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Follow @coreyarwood on X, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Woman struck by Brightline passenger train in Vero Beach