Impatience can kill you: 23-year-old killed by CSX train after driving to go around railroad crossing arms in Florida, so that he did not have to wait 30 minutes for the train to go by

Police ID man killed in Westside train crash

Man killed in train crash indentified

First Coast News 5:47 p.m. EDT June 29, 2015

(Photo: Josh Brannock)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville man was killed in a crash involving a train and a vehicle on the Westside Saturday, authorities said.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, it happened around 7:30 p.m. in the 9700 block of West Beaver Street.

Police say the train was heading west when it crossed over a road that leads into the Publix Distribution Center. The crossing arms were down, and the vehicle was coming from the direction of the distribution center.

Police say there were two victims in the vehicle. Abdul Miller Jr., 23, died at the scene. The other was taken to a hospital.

Police did not release the make and model of the vehicle that was hit.

One person is dead and another is hurt after the vehicle they were traveling in was hit by a CSX train Saturday, authorities said. 

Dwaine Stephens, a spokesman for Publix, said it is unclear if the people in the vehicle worked for Publix.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, it happened in the 9700 block of West Beaver Street. (Photo: First Coast News)


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 

Investigators are looking into a train crash over the weekend where they said Abdul Miller Jr., 23, tried to go around the crossing arms.

Miller was killed in the accident and another passenger was taken to UF Health with injuries.

Police said Miller tried to go around the crossing arms at the railroad crossing near the Publix Distribution Center on West Beaver Street. His car was pushed down the tracks and into another train parked on the side of the track.

“Lives are being lost,” Westside resident Shane Hill said. “Any time lives are being lost, it needs to be looked at."

Hill, who lives near the West Beaver Street railroad crossing, said he often sees drivers go around the lowered crossing arms to avoid the wait.

Hill said he wants law enforcement to crack down on those drivers to send a message.

“A lot of changes need to be made,” Hill said.

“People get impatient. You know, the trains go slow and they don’t like sitting there all that time, so they want to get around it quicker,” Westside resident Kelly Martin said.

Action News obtained cellphone video showing drivers going around the crossing arms at U.S. 1 at Racetrack Road, where the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said the arms were malfunctioning.

“It didn’t surprise me that they went around,” Baldwin resident Judy Ervin said.
Ervin, who lives near a railroad crossing in Baldwin, said drivers try to beat the train all the time.

“It’s what people do out here because they know they’re going to be sitting there for 30, 45 minutes or longer,” Ervin said.

 Ervin said it often happens when there’s a stopped train on the tracks or when the arms are down because of inclement weather.

“I’m guilty of it myself. I’ve done it before too,” Baldwin City Councilor Harry Ervin said.

Ervin said he believes that the crossing arms need to be consistent and more efficient.

“(We need) better signal maintenance from the railroad on these crossings and the railroad getting more concerned about getting the trains cleared when they can,” Ervin said.

The West Beaver Street train crash was the third crash in the area so far this month.

A car collided with an Amtrak train in Putnam County, and an Amtrak train sliced through a car in Riverside earlier in June.

“I wait,” driver Juan Rodriguez said. “Especially (when I've) got my kids. You know, I do wait. It’s not worth it.”

CSX released the following statement about Saturday’s crash:

“Just after 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, a CSX train traveling from Jacksonville to Tampa struck an occupied vehicle at the Beaver Street crossing in Jacksonville. The train had two locomotives and 17 rail cars carrying mixed freight. The impact of the collision pushed the vehicle into another train sitting in the siding. JSO, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue and CSX representatives responded on scene. Train traffic through the area was suspended while the investigation was underway and the area was being cleared. Normal train traffic resumed early Sunday morning. CSX extends its deepest sympathies to all involved in this tragic accident.”