The reopening of Brightline's high-speed train service in South Florida after a 20-month shutdown over the COVID-19 pandemic began with a train hitting a car in Pompano Beach Monday morning.
The crash happened around 10:20 a.m. in the area of Northeast 3rd Street and North Flagler Avenue.
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Pompano Beach spokesperson Sandra King said a 71-year-old grandmother and a 1-year-old were in the car when the grandmother tried to make a right turn and somehow ended up on the tracks.
The woman tried driving off the tracks but the train slammed into the rear of her car.
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"Obviously, it was just visually awful, the car is mangled," King said.
Broward Sheriff's Office officials said the driver and passenger weren't injured but were taken to an area hospital as a precaution.
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The incident remains under investigation, BSO officials said.
Officials with Brightline said the company's president, Patrick Goddard, was onboard when the crash happened.
Goddard and others were celebrating the reopening of the train service, which stopped operations in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
The company currently operates between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida and is scheduled to complete construction to the Orlando International Airport by the end of 2022.
