One person died and two are in serious condition after a pickup traveled around closed railroad crossing arms and collided with a train on Thursday night in Starke.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) report, the accident occurred around 10:30 p.m. as a Ford F250 pickup was traveling east on East Market Road west of Paul Street. A CSX train was traveling northbound approaching the East Market Road intersection.
The railroad crossing arms were down with the flashing red lights activated when the pickup drove around the activated arms to cross the tracks and was hit on the right side of the truck. The pickup rotated clockwise and overturned onto its roof and came to rest on the north shoulder of East Market Road while the train came to a controlled stop.
Emergency responders pronounced a 57-year-old Lawtey man dead at the scene. Two other occupants — a 44-year-old Waldo man and a 63-year-old Lawtey man — were transported to UF Shands Hospital in Gainesville and are in serious condition. No one in the train was injured.
FHP is still working to identify which of the three men was driving the pickup and continues to investigate the case.
