Plant City Florida train crash: Six people including parents, their three kids and a friend are dead after train slammed into their SUV as they were headed into quinceanera – ‘violently ejecting’ the occupants
Six people were killed, including three children, after a train crashed into their SUV last weekend.
The incident happened Saturday at a private railroad crossing about 20 miles west of Tampa, killing five Escalade passengers at the scene.
The driver involved, 52-year-old Jose Guadalupe Hernandez, initially survived but succumbed to his injuries overnight after being rushed to a local hospital, police said.
Five in the backseat, including Hernandez’s wife and three children ages 9, 17 and 22, were ejected from the vehicle in the crash, police revealed Sunday, as they continue to investigate what led to the crash.
What is known is that all of the victims, apart from Hernandez, were rear seat passengers, while the other was a 17-year-old friend of one of the deceased. The survivor, a friend of Hernandez’s adult child, is in critical condition at a Lakeland hospital.
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Six people were killed, including three children, after a train crashed into their SUV Saturday night – at this private railroad crossing in Plant City, Florida. Five in the back seat died on the spot after being ejected from the vehicle, while the driver, aged 52, died overnight
Sole survivor Guillermo Gama, a friend of one of the victims, is currently fighting for life after being rushed to a hospital in Lakewood. Family members noted Sunday how the incident “stole the lives of an entire family,” who were on their way to a party at the time of the crash
There, relatives say he is ‘fighting for his life’.
“On Saturday, September 23, 2023, my cousin Guillermo E. (Gordo/Doorbell) Gama III was involved in a fatal train wreck that stole the lives of an entire family,” a GoFundMe started by 23-year-old Plant City man Aunt Sunday reads.
“The deceased victims were (Gama’s) girlfriend, parents, 2 siblings and a friend of one of the siblings.”
The post – which raised almost $3,000 within two hours – went on to say that “Gama is only 23 years old and is passionate about life and family.
“He is currently in critical condition at Lakeland Regional Hospital fighting for his life.”
In a statement just a few hours earlier, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies provided an update on the condition of the other survivor in Hernandez, who they said drove the group to a quinceañera across the railroad tracks.
The update, which aired more than 12 hours after the crash, further revealed the identities and ages of the other victims — lives that were all snuffed out just before 7 p.m. Saturday as the car slowly crossed the tracks of Highway 92 at Jim Lefler Circle .
It read as follows: “The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is heartbroken to share the latest update on the investigation into fatal train and vehicle crashes.
“The driver involved in the accident succumbed to his injuries and died during the night.”
The incident happened Saturday at a private railroad crossing about 20 miles west of Tampa, killing five Escalade passengers at the scene.
The driver involved, 52-year-old Jose Guadalupe Hernandez, initially survived but succumbed to his injuries overnight after being rushed to a local hospital, police said.
Five in the backseat, including Hernandez’s wife and three children (ages 9, 17 and 22), were ejected from the vehicle in the crash, police revealed Sunday, as they continue to investigate what led to the crash
What is known is that all the victims, apart from Hernandez, were rear passengers – the other a 17-year-old friend of one of the deceased
The survivor, a friend of Hernandez’s adult child, is in critical condition at a Lakeland hospital
His wife, 50-year-old Enedelia Hernandez, and their three children — Alyssa, who just turned 17, Anaelia, 22, and nine-year-old Julian — were pronounced dead at the scene, police wrote, revealing some of the violent circumstances. around their death.
“(Hernandez) was driving his white 2020 Cadillac Escalade south on Jim Lefler Circle from US Highway 92 and approached a railroad crossing controlled by a stop sign and a railroad crossing sign,” officers wrote.
“Hernandez had six other passengers in the Escalade, including his wife, two young children, an adult child and two of the children’s friends.
“For unknown and undetermined reasons, the engineer slowly crossed the track directly into the path of the train.
“Five rear passengers were ejected from the Escalade as it spun and rolled to its final rest.”
