Driver dies after freight train hits vehicle in West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — A 67-year-old woman has died after her vehicle was hit by a freight train in West Palm Beach Wednesday evening.

The crash occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m. at the railroad crossing along Quadrille Boulevard and Fern Street.

West Palm Beach police said the driver, a woman in her 60s, was extricated from the vehicle and rushed to the hospital in “very critical condition” where she later died.

WPTV

Witnesses said several ambulances were at the scene. One person described the incident saying the train “plowed into a car.”

“And I heard all the ambulances going by… it was literally like a zoo.. it was like a carnival going by,” said a downtown West Palm Beach resident.

Traffic in the area was impacted for hours.

“To give you some perspective, I was supposed to go across the tracks, 5-minute walk that way to get something notarized. Instead, it took an hour and a half to drive around the entire city, ” another resident said.

Officials said even though the crash occurred near the Brightline train station, the train involved in the crash is not a Brightline train. Brightline train schedule has not been impacted.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration’s website, this is the 7th crash involving a train and a car in West Palm Beach so far this year.

This developing story will update as more information becomes available.