PLANT CITY, FL – A freight train and an SUV collided in a horrific accident in Florida on Saturday. The crash resulted in five fatalities, including two children, and critically injuring two adults, as per police reports. The family of seven, whose identities remain undisclosed, was on their way to a quinceañera when the tragedy struck.
The incident took place in Plant City, a town located 25 miles to the east of Tampa. The family’s Cadillac Escalade was caught on camera slowly approaching a train crossing that was marked only by a stop sign. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister described the event as beyond devastating.
The video footage showed the SUV’s driver failing to look both ways before crossing the tracks, placing the vehicle directly in the path of a mile-long freight train traveling at 55 miles per hour. Despite the frantic efforts of the train conductor and nearby witnesses to alert the driver by honking and flashing lights, the collision was unavoidable.
The force of the collision caused the SUV to flip several times before finally coming to rest some distance from the crossing. All five backseat passengers, two males and three females, were ejected from the vehicle and died on the spot. The family informed the police that the deceased included children aged 10 and 14.
The driver and the front-seat passenger, both adult males, were trapped inside the severely damaged SUV, which Sheriff Chronister compared to a crushed soda can. They were extracted using the jaws of life and immediately transported to a local hospital in critical condition. The sheriff expressed his deep sorrow over the tragic event, which has left the community and law enforcement profoundly shaken. The investigation into the incident continues.