DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2025 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The City of Delray Beach just placed two chiefs, a captain, and the driver of the fire truck that was struck by a Brightline Train last Saturday on administrative leave. At least twelve passengers on the Brightline Train and three firefighters were injured when the man now identified as driver David Wyatt allegedly drove truck 115 around active crossing gates, only to be struck by the train. Here’s the official statement released Friday evening by Fire Chief Ronald Martin:
“As Fire Chief, my top priority is the safety of our community and the well-being of the brave men and women who serve it. Effective immediately, Assistant Chief Kevin Green, Division Chief Todd Lynch, Captain Brian Fiorey, and Driver Engineer David Wyatt have been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the results of an internal administrative investigation to determine if City and Fire Rescue policies and procedures were followed.
This action is consistent with City policy and a procedural step as we review the facts. The administrative investigation is necessary to ensure accountability and uphold the trust of our community.
The Delray Beach Fire Rescue Department is committed to transparency, professionalism, and the highest standards of public service. We will continue to cooperate fully with all investigative processes and remain dedicated to the safety and well-being of both our community and our firefighters.
All public safety agencies carry an immense responsibility. I remain fully committed to learning from this incident, strengthening our procedures, and ensuring our firefighters have the training and resources needed to protect Delray Beach safely and effectively. This is the time to examine where we might have fallen short in the past and make the tough decisions needed to ensure we don’t continue to do so. I am committed to implementing meaningful changes to strengthen our operations and taking the necessary steps to uphold the integrity of our department.
I appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as we conduct this review and make the changes that will improve the service we provide to the community.”
“…have been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the results of an internal administrative investigation….” – ONLY??
What good is a suspension WITH PAY. That is not a penalty. The driver of truck 115 should have been automatically fired. If he was told by both chiefs and the captain to go around the crossing gates then they should also be fired. If he decided on his own he definately should be fired. However, which other fireperson saw what he was doing should have YELLED out to him to stop. How many times have trains from both directions come by a minute or two apart. That is why the gates stay down. I am a former Driving Instructor for all vehicles lic by New York State. I am also a former professional driver of all big vehicles. I drove GASOLINE TANKERS from Port Everglades. At RR crossings we had to make a full stop while our flashers were on, put our brakes on and when it was safe to cross we put our rigs into second and we DID NOT shift to third until the trailer cleared the tracks. The penalty of shifting over the tracks was a $ 10,000.00 fine. The driver of truck 115 was COMPLETELY IN THE WRONG, and he should be fired automatically for what he did.
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