PLANT CITY, Fla. — Three families in Plant City are in pain, grieving for the loss of their loved ones after a deadly crash between an SUV and a train on Saturday.
According to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office, Jose Hernandez, 52, was on his way to a birthday party with his family and two of their friends Saturday night.
The sheriff’s office said a train collided with their SUV at Jim Lefler Circle and US-92.
Enedelia Hernandez, 50; Alyssa Hernandez, 17; Aniella Hernandez, 22; Julian Hernandez, 9; and Jake Lopez, 17 died at the scene. Jose and family friend Guillermo Gama were rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Jose was pronounced dead Sunday morning. Gama is still in the hospital, fighting for his life. He’s the only survivor.
“They’re going through a lot,” said Elizabeth Aguilar.
Aguliar is a long-time friend of the Gama family. She said they're all standing by him and praying for his full recovery.
“It’s going to be tough,” she said. “But I know that he can do it. He has a good support system behind him. He has a whole family and community that’s cheering him on.”
The three families are now wondering why this had to happen and if something could have been done to prevent this crash. According to eyewitness reports, the train's bright light was on, and the horn was going off. Witnesses also told investigators that several people were outside trying to get Jose to stop, but he still drove over the track. Investigators aren't sure why he didn't stop.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, train vs. vehicle crashes are common. We looked into the number. According to DOT’s data, there have been 998 crashes involving trains. Of those, 111 were fatal. Florida had 56, with nine of them being fatal.
The rail crossing where the crash happened only has a stop sign-up. There are no crossing arms, flashing red lights, or bells. There are several crossings just like that one on U.S. 92. We found some that do have the crossing arms and flashing lights up.
“Why not here? It makes no sense,” said Aguilar.
We asked rail safety expert and former conductor Michael Callanan that exact question.
“This is private property. It’s not maintained by the city, state, or county there, for they aren’t required to put the warning devices there,” he said. “Had those devices been there, probably would have saved these people’s lives.”
CSX is responsible for the track. We reached out for comment.
