Why are there more Brightline accidents in Brevard compared to Orange County? FOX 35 Investigates
More Brightline crashes happening in South Florida, Brevard
Brightline collisions happen more often in Brevard and South Florida than on the Orlando corridor.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Brightline crashes often seem to happen in specific areas along routes served by the train.
Rail safety advocates say collisions happen more often in Brevard and South Florida than on the Orlando corridor.
Brevard County vs. Orange County
Dig deeper:
There are several differences between the tracks from Orlando International Airport into Cocoa and the tracks from Cocoa down to South Florida.
On the Orange County stretch, there are fences blocking off the tracks and the tracks don’t run at the same level as cars. They are elevated instead. It’s also a brand-new track Brightline built specifically for their high-speed trains, so it hasn’t been around for decades.
Lastly, it’s much less populated. The stretch from the airport to the Space Coast runs along S.R. 528, and there’s less development. It’s rural with fewer homes.
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On the Brevard County stretch, the tracks run right down the middle of busy communities in Cocoa, Rockledge, Melbourne and Palm Bay. There are no fences blocking off the tracks and sidewalks and roads run right into them. The only barriers are the crossing arms that come down when trains are in the area.
In Orange County, FOX 35 has not reported on any pedestrian or vehicle collisions with the high-speed trains. Brevard County is different. There have been several crashes with Brightline trains since the service started.
Multiple accidents on Space Coast
A terrifying situation was recently caught on camera in Palm Bay when a woman attempted to run right onto the tracks as Brightline barreled by at the Port Malabar Boulevard intersection.
"It was scary honestly," said Dominick Novilli, who witnessed the attempt.
Police responded to that incident, and the person was found and taken into custody for a mental health evaluation.
Back in September, FOX 35 told you about a deadly crash involving a Brightline train.
A driver allegedly tried to go around the lowered arm when the vehicle was hit. The driver died.
Situations like this have some lawmakers calling for change.
Can accidents be prevented?
Carlos Guillermo Smith, the State Senator for District 17, says Brightline could be doing more to prevent situations like this in the first place.
"Have longer and safer gates at the at-grade road crossings. They need to have higher fences. They need to invest in suicide prevention awareness and programs that we’ve seen work in other regions," said the state senator.
Smith says Orange County doesn’t have deadly Brightline incidents because they have fences and elevated tracks that don't intersect with cars.
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He’d like to see the same in other parts of the state and will push for these kinds of protocols as a lawmaker if and when Brightline starts its expansion from Orlando to Tampa.
"The consequences have been severe. We’ve seen dozens and dozens of deaths along these at grade road crossings where no fences exist, where the gates aren’t long enough, and they’re very easy to evade and drive around them," said Smith.
Will engineering change behavior?
Those involved in rail society argue safety upgrades like those still can't stop human behavior. If someone wants to get on the tracks, they will find a way no matter the precautions in place.
"People who want to do things they shouldn’t are going to find a way to do it. You can’t prevent that, unfortunately," said Jim Kovalsky, with the Florida East Coast Railway Society, which is a non-profit committed to education and outreach around rail safety.
He says train tracks in Brevard and South Florida have been around way before the communities developed around them. The older tracks can’t be elevated, and it’s too populated in those areas to add fences.
He also thinks the Orange County Brightline corridor is deemed safer simply because it’s less populated.
"It’s very easy to have less accidents when you have no people," said Kovalsky.
The Source: FOX 35 Reporter Esther Bower spoke with the lawmaker and rail safety advocate on Jan. 1, 2026, via zoom. She also met with a near-accident witness on Jan. 1, 2026, at the Port Malabar tracks. She reached out to Brightline on Jan. 1, 2026, for comment but did not hear back with a response by the story deadline.