Global Courant
Six people were killed Saturday evening after a freight train crashed into an SUV carrying seven people at an intersection in Hillsborough County, Florida, law enforcement officials said.
The dead, including three adults and three children, were members of a family and a friend of the family’s children, officials said.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister described a gruesome scene, likening the SUV to a crushed tin can in the aftermath of the crash.
“This tragic loss is enormous, and the members of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and I pray for peace and comfort for all those affected,” he said in a statement.
Investigators are working near the scene where a train crashed into an SUV on Saturday, September 23, 2023 in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Jose G. Hernandez, 52, was driving a white Cadillac Escalade southbound toward a train crossing Saturday evening around 7 p.m., officials said.
“For unknown and undetermined reasons, the operator slowly crossed the tracks directly into the path of the train,” the sheriff’s office said. a statement on Sunday. “Five rear passengers were ejected from the Escalade as it spun and rolled to its final rest.”
The SUV “turned violently several times” and landed “some distance” from the initial impact at the intersection, Chronister said, citing video of the collision.
Workers gather near the site where a train crashed into an SUV on Saturday, September 23, 2023 in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
The jaws of life were used to save Hernandez and a front passenger, both of whom were transported to Lakeland Regional Hospital, where they were both listed in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said. Hernandez later died at the hospital, officials said.
The other five passengers were violently ejected from the SUV and were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Officials said the dead included the driver’s wife, Enedelia Hernandez, 50.
Three of the couple’s children and one of the children’s friends were killed, police said. Their names were Anaelia Hernandez, 22; Alyssa Hernández, 17; Julian Hernández, 9; and Jakub A. Lopez, 17, officials said.
The name and age of the passenger who was taken to the hospital have not been publicly released.
Emergency and law enforcement vehicles respond to the scene in Hillsborough County, Florida, where an official said an SUV carrying a family was struck by a train on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
WFTS
The crash scene took place near the intersection of US Route 92 and Jim Lefler Circle. Chronister said the victims were believed to be heading to a quinceañera at a house across the street from the railroad crossing.
Members of the sheriff’s Victim Specialist Unit were asked to make resources available to people close to the Hernandez family, the sheriff’s office said.
“Those affected by this devastating loss were met with compassion and the highest level of professionalism as they attempted to navigate the unspeakable,” Chronister said.
ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh contributed to this story.
