PLANT CITY, Fla. — Six people are dead, including three children, after a train crashed into their SUV Saturday evening in Plant City as they were on their way to a birthday party.
During a news conference, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister explained seven people were inside a Cadillac Escalade when the crash happened – with five of them being "violently ejected" from the impact.
Video footage on the front of the freight train showed the driver of the SUV approaching the crossing, which reportedly wasn't signalized, in the area of Highway 92 and Jim Lefler Circle.
But instead of yielding at the posted stop sign, Chronister explains the driver slowly crawled across the tracks, never stopping.
"The conductor of the train did everything he could to try to slow this train down," the sheriff said. "He signaled these loud train horns that they're equipped with along with the flashing lights.
"We know that even from the witness that was parked by the tracks that he also was hitting the horn of his vehicle – all trying to get the driver's attention and get [them] to stop and look both ways..."
Once the train hit the SUV, it reportedly catapulted and began to flip multiple times before landing a distance from where it originally was.
The sheriff's office was first alerted of the crash at 6:48 p.m. from an iPhone which detected the collision, Chronister said.
Once law enforcement arrived on scene, the sheriff said "they immediately [went] to work."
Crews started to work to pry open the car which Chronister compared to a crushed soft drink can.
The driver and front passenger were rescued from within the car, according to the sheriff. They were taken to Lakeland Regional Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
On Sunday morning, it was announced that the driver died from his injuries. He was 52-year-old Jose G. Hernandez. The other following people also died in the crash:
- Enedelia Hernandez, 50
- Jakub A. Lopez, 17
- Alyssa Hernandez, 17
- Anaelia Hernandez, 22
- Julian Hernandez, 9
The five passengers, who were reportedly all "violently ejected" from the SUV, were pronounced dead on scene.
The passenger who remains in the hospital is 23-year-old Guillermo Gama. He is currently in critical condition.
According to Chronister, there were four men and three women involved in the crash, with some being children. The family from Plant City was reportedly on their way to a birthday party.
"I want to take just a moment to ask this community to say an extra prayer tonight," the sheriff said. "Say an extra prayer tonight for the first responders, for the deputies who had to go out here and as they were canvassing the area looking for survivors unfortunately only found more people who lost their lives from this tragedy...
"Also want to ask you to pray for this family...Our hearts are shattered for the loss of this family and the tragedy that occurred here this evening."
A GoFundMe has been created for Gama as he remains in the hospital, which can be seen here.