Melbourne - Friday October 20, 2023: A 60-year-old woman was struck and killed by a Brightline passenger train Thursday afternoon in Melbourne.
It happened just west of U.S. #1 where the tracks run between Cypress Blvd and Bunche Street.
A brief news release posted on the Melbourne Police Department's website states that Melbourne Police responded to a pedestrian vs. train crash at 2:46 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
When they got there they found the woman dead. They described her as as pedestrian. Her name was not immediately released, pending notification of next of kin.
This morning Florida Today reported that she has now been identified as Lisa Marie Molnar, of Melbourne.
Third Death Caused by a Brightline Train Since the Day Orlando Service Was Launched
This is the third person who has died after being struck by a Brightline train since the day on which the high-speed rail company launched its Miami-Orlando service on Friday September 22.
A Brightline Train hit and killed a homeless man on the tracks in Fort Pierce on September 28. St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said there was strong evidence that it was a suicide.
Less than a week earlier, on the very day that Brightline launched its Orlando service, a south bound Brightline passenger train on a local route struck and killed a pedestrian on the tracks in Delray Beach, which delayed the start of the inaugural high speed run to Orlando that morning. Delray Beach police said that death too was likely a suicide.
And it is the 100th death in which a Brightline train has been involved, since the private rail company launched service nearly six years ago.
Up until this week, According to reporting by the Associated Press which reviewed records kept by the Federal Railroad Administration, Brightline trains have been involved in the deaths of 99 people since their service began nearly six years ago.
Lisa Marie Molnar death after being struck by a Brightline train in Melbourne on Thursday raises that number to 100, the worst fatality rateamong the nation’s more than 800 railroads.
Brightline has not responded to requests for comment on the deaths.