VSU grad, family members die in car-train collision

Published 12:49 pm Wednesday, September 27, 2023

PLANT CITY, Fla. — A car-vs.-train collision Saturday left a Valdosta State University graduate and several members of her family dead, authorities said on Wednesday.

Aniella Hernandez, 22, of Plant City, Fla., a 2022 graduate of VSU, died at the scene of the accident in Plant City, the Hillsborough County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, Jose Guadalupe Hernandez was driving an SUV south on Jim Lefler Circle from U.S. 92 as he approached a railroad crossing marked by a stop sign and a railroad crossing sign, the statement said.

Authorities said all the victims were part of an extended family on their way to a birthday party at a house a short distance down the private road from the railroad crossing.

For unknown reasons, the SUV crossed the tracks directly in a train’s path.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said video surveillance showed the SUV slowly driving across the tracks but not stopping. He said the train conductor and another driver honked and flashed their lights to get the driver’s attention but the train was not able to stop.

Five rear passengers were ejected from the vehicle on impact with the train and died at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

Jose Hernandez and a front seat passenger were taken to Lakeland Regional Hospital. Jose Hernandez died at the hospital; the passenger suffered a brain bleed, ruptured kidney and bruised lung but was expected to survive, the statement said.

The five who died from the ejection were identified by the sheriff’s office as Enedelia Hernandez, 50, Jakub A. Lopez, 17, Alyssa Hernandez, 17, Aniella Hernandez and Julian Hernandez, 9.

“Valdosta State University is deeply saddened by the tragic death of recent graduate Aniella Hernandez,” a statement from the university said Wednesday. “She joined our Blazer Nation family in 2019 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Health Science in 2022. She was a first-generation college student who often talked about continuing her studies after graduation and becoming a nurse practitioner.”

Hernandez often volunteered with the Humane Society and the local hospital, the VSU statement said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.