SEBASTIAN — A 63-year-old woman died after a northbound Brightline train struck her late Wednesday near the Walmart on U.S. 1, the Sebastian Police Department said in a statement.
The woman was walking over the railroad tracks about 11:15 p.m. on September 2 when she was hit west of the store in the 2000 block of U.S. 1, Interim Chief Tim Wood said. The crash did not happen at a designated railroad crossing, police reported.
Wood told Sebastian Daily officers do not believe the death was an attempted suicide. The woman was not homeless.
Police have not released her name as they are still working to notify her next of kin. The investigation remains open.
Indian River County Brightline Fatalities
There have been six Brightline fatalities in Indian River County since passenger service started through the county in September 2023.
- Jan. 29, 2024: Wesley Alan Ducheneaux Walsh, 29, was struck while walking on the tracks just north of Highland Drive Southeast. It was the first Brightline death in Indian River County.
- Feb. 16, 2024: Emily Kayser, 35, of Vero Beach, was struck at the Fourth Street crossing south of Vero Beach.
- Dec. 10, 2024: Bryan De Paz Vazquez, 25, was struck at the 12th Street crossing in Vero Beach, between U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway. Witnesses said he went under a lowered crossing arm and tried to run across the tracks. He was wearing headphones.
- June 4, 2025: Dennis James Pollard, 69, of Sebastian, was struck about a quarter-mile north of the Main Street crossing. He was on foot.
- June 21, 2026: A man was struck just south of 1000 16th Street in Vero Beach. Vero Beach police said it was an apparent suicide. His name was not released in the initial reports.
- Sept. 2, 2026: A woman in her 60s was struck about 11:15 p.m. west of the Walmart in the 2000 block of U.S. 1 in Sebastian. Police said it did not happen at a designated crossing and that they do not believe it was a suicide. Her name has not been released.
All six were pedestrians. No fatal vehicle-versus-Brightline crashes in Indian River County. That is 3 deaths in 2024, 1 in 2025, and 2 so far in 2026.