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Man illegally walking on track killed by Brightline train, police say

He was walking on southbound tracks
Delray Beach police vehicle, March 27, 2023
Posted at 11:02 PM, Jun 05, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-06 17:10:44-04

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — One man illegally walking on southbound train tracks was struck and killed by a Brightline train in Delray Beach on Monday night, police said Tuesday.

Jeffrey Balsewich, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene and no one else was injured, police said.

The crash occurred at Northeast 14th Street and North Federal Highway west of North Old Dixie Highway shortly before 10 p.m.

Dixie was shut down from the 1600 block to the 2300 block, according to a post on Twitter.

The Florida East Coast Railway tracks, which are used by Brightline and freight trains, are just west of Dixie Highway.

On Feb. 8, two people were killed when their SUV was struck by a Brightline train in Delray Beach. Lindell Boulevard was shut down at Old Dixie Highway in all directions.

Witnesses said the vehicle was on the tracks when it was struck by the southbound train, the police agency posted on Twitter. A freight train earlier had passed through.

At 7:24 a.m. on Friday, a pedestrian died in a crash with a Brightline game in the area of Northeast Sixth Street and North Dixie Highway in Pompano Beach.

According to Broward Sheriff's Office detectives, the preliminary investigation reveals that the Brightline train was traveling southbound on the west track approaching the crossing at Northeast Sixth Street. At the same time, 29-year-old Dyanna Fernandez was walking eastbound along the north side of Northeast Sixth Street approaching the crossing. Witnesses told detectives that the pedestrian was using her cellphone as she walked around the lowered sidewalk safety gate and continued east across the railroad tracks.

The front of the train struck her as the train proceeded through the crossing.