BSO: Woman, distracted by phone, walked around crossing gate before fatal Brightline crash

Victim IDed as Dyanna Fernandez, 29, of Fort Lauderdale

Brightline train in Pompano Beach. (WPLG)

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Broward County deputies released new information Monday about the pedestrian struck and killed by a Brightline train in Pompano Beach Friday morning.

Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Carey Codd said detectives identified the woman killed as 29-year-old Dyanna Fernandez, of Fort Lauderdale.

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The crash happened at around 7:30 a.m. at the Northeast Sixth Street railroad crossing, abutting the North Dixie Highway intersection.

Witnesses told investigators that Fernandez was looking down at her cellphone as she walked around the lowered pedestrian crossing gate onto the tracks before being hit by the oncoming train, Codd said Monday.

Medics pronounced her dead at the scene.

A witness gave a similar account to Local 10 News following the crash Friday.

“She was walking and she had her head down and she, like, looked up and then she just got hit by the train, and she flung up in the air and I saw her drop, and then everyone started running towards her,” onlooker Fatima Labeet said. “People were putting cones around her so no one would run over her, because people were still in their cars driving past like she wasn’t laying on the floor.”

Codd said the crash remained under investigation as of Monday afternoon.


About the Author
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Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

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