25 September 2023 , 08:41
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Six people have been killed including two parents and their three children after a tragic crash at a railroad crossing saw a train plough into their car.
The family-of-five and a friend were killed on Saturday as a seventh passenger, the 23-year-old partner of one of the victims, remains in a critical condition. The incident happened at a private railway crossing about 20 miles west of Tampa, Florida. The crossing has no barriers and just a stop sign to warn drivers of trains.
Five people died at the scene, Enedalia Hernandez, 50, and three children - Julian, 9, Alyssa, 17, and Anaelia, 22 - were thrown from the back of the vehicle upon impact and were all killed.
Jakub Lopez, 17, who was a friend of one of the siblings also died in the crash. Father Jose Guadalupe Hernandez, 52, who was driving, was rushed to a local hospital but he died of his injuries overnight, police said. Guillermo Gama, 23, Anaelia's boyfriend who was a passenger in the front of the car, is the only survivor and is in critical condition at Lakeland hospital.
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Rescues at the scene were visibly shaken by the terrible crash, the Sheriff said (WFLA)A GoFundMe started by Gama's aunt has already raised over $3,000. She wrote, “On Saturday 9/23/23 my nephew Guillermo E. (Gordo/Doorbell) Gama III was involved in a fatal train wreck that stole the lives of an entire family. The deceased victims were [Gama's] girlfriend, parents, 2 siblings and a friend of one of the siblings.”
The post adds, “Gama is only 23 years old with a passion for life and family. He is currently in Critical Condition at Lakeland Regional Hospital fighting for his life.”
Guillermo Gama is the sole survivor of the crash (@William.gama1/Facebook)A spokesperson for the local Sheriff's Office said: “The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is heartbroken to share the latest update regarding the fatal train versus vehicle crash investigation. The driver involved in the crash succumbed to his injuries and passed away overnight. [Hernandez] was driving his white 2020 Cadillac Escalade southbound on Jim Lefler Circle from US Highway 92, approaching 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 juvenile children, an adult child, and two friends of the children. For unknown and undetermined reasons, the driver slowly crossed the tracks directly in the train's path. Five rear passengers were ejected from the Escalade as it rotated and rolled to final rest.”
He is now fighting for his life in hospital (@William.gama1/Facebook)Shocked emergency responders compared the destroyed vehicle to a soft drink can that has been smashed, with pieces of wreckage still at the scene on Sunday morning. Sheriff Chad Chronister said he and all the first responders are still “visibly shaken” from the incident. “It's that horrible of a scene,” he said. The crash had been captured on camera and the footage was helping officers in their investigation, he also revealed. The clip shows the Escalade SUV come to the crossing and “slow crawled across the railroad crossing, but never stopped, never stopped to look both ways.”
“The train conductor did everything he could to slow this train down,” he added. A witness told deputies he honked his horn to get the driver's attention, as he crossed the little-used crossing to bring the passengers to a birthday party located on the other side of the tracks.