BREAKING: Man struck, killed by Brightline train in Boynton Beach

June 21--BOYNTON BEACH -- A man was struck and killed by a Brightline train in Boynton Beach Wednesday night, the sixth death involving the express rail service in Palm Beach County since January and the fourth such death to occur this year in Boynton Beach.

City police said that a northbound train struck an unidentified man shortly before 6:30 p.m. on the train tracks between East Gateway Boulevard and Miner Road.

Police were working to identify the man and notify his family late Wednesday, police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said.

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Investigators began clearing the scene shortly after 8:30 p.m.

Seven people in Palm Beach County have been struck and killed by Brightline trains since last year, when the company began testing along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks.

On June 1, a 46-year-old Lakeland man, Christopher Bailey, was struck and killed by a train traveling south from the FEC railway crossing on Woolbright Road. Police said that Bailey jumped in front of the train.

Last week, a man was "brushed" by a Brightline train near 17th Avenue and North Dixie Highway in Lake Worth after he refused to move from the tracks, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office reported.

The man was taken to trauma center for evaluation and referred for a mental-health examination.

Brightline trains run non-stop between West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami and can reach speeds of 79 mph. The company invested more than $60 million to complete safety upgrades along the FEC corridor from Miami to West Palm Beach, including the installation of a signal system that communicates with approaching trains, triggers gate openings and closings and regulates train-crossing times.

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Several cities, including West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Boca Raton and Delray Beach, have implemented quiet zones in response to complaints from residents about noise from the trains' horns.

Boynton Beach officials announced in January that more restrictive gates would be installed at four railroad crossings, including one at East Ocean Avenue, after a bicyclist died on Jan. 17. Jeffrey King, 51, was killed as he pedaled his bicycle around the gates near the FEC crossing.

Days earlier, on Jan. 12, Melissa Lavell, 32, died near the intersection of Northeast Sixth Avenue, also in Boynton Beach. Witnesses told police she attempted to beat the train.

All Aboard Florida, which operates Brightline, is owned by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, a global investment management firm. Fortress Investment Group LLC is contracted to manage and advise New Media Investments Inc., which owns GateHouse Media, the parent company of The Palm Beach Post.

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