Six people, including three children, lost their lives in a heartbreaking accident in Hillsborough County, Florida.
A train collided with an SUV as it crossed railroad tracks on a Saturday evening.
The sheriff’s office provided details of the tragic incident.
The sheriff, Chad Chronister, described the aftermath of the collision as horrific.
He compared the mangled Cadillac Escalade SUV to a crushed soft drink can.
The freight train was traveling at more than 55 mph when it struck the SUV, which was carrying seven people on their way to a quinceañera party.
Video footage from the train’s front camera showed the SUV’s driver slowly crossing the tracks without stopping to check for oncoming trains.
The train conductor did everything possible to slow down and issued warnings by sounding long horns and flashing lights.
A witness near the tracks also honked to alert the SUV driver.
Upon impact, the SUV was seen catapulting and flipping violently multiple times before coming to rest some distance away from the crossing.
First responders arrived at the scene just before 7 p.m. and initiated rescue efforts.
They managed to save the driver and front-seat passenger, who were rushed to Lakeland Regional Hospital in critical and serious condition.
Tragically, the other five passengers in the SUV were violently thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
The victims were identified as Julian Hernandez (9), Jakub A. Lopez (17), Alyssa Hernandez (17), Anaelia Hernandez (22), Enedelia Hernandez (51), and Jose G. Hernandez (52).
Their relationships were still being determined at the time of the sheriff’s statement.
“Anyone who goes and sees the carnage that’s been created, whenever you compound that with the fact that some children lost their life here, maybe an entire family lost their life here tonight – we are all visibly shaken,” Chronister said.
“We are rattled at our core after witnessing what happened here tonight.”
The railroad crossing where the collision took place did not have barriers to prevent cars from crossing while a train was approaching.
Instead, it had a stop sign and a railroad crossing indicator to remind drivers to stop and look both ways before proceeding.
The area was not heavily traveled, with only a few homes on the other side of the crossing.
The sheriff’s office is currently investigating the cause of the crash. The victims were identified as a family from Plant City, Florida.
CSX, the railway company involved, expressed condolences and mentioned that none of its train crew members were injured in the accident.
They are cooperating with local law enforcement in the ongoing investigation.
