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Car-train crash kills firefighter
The victim was a Seffner-Mango volunteer. His comrades responded to the accident.
By LETITIA STEIN
Published January 28, 2005
SEFFNER - A 19-year-old volunteer firefighter from Seffner died Wednesday night when a Miami-bound Amtrak train rammed into his 1990 Ford sedan. Authorities said Joshua Gilman had stopped on the railroad tracks facing north at Valrico Road and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard. About 7 p.m., the train rammed the left side of the car at about 70 mph, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Firefighters with the Seffner-Mango Volunteer Fire Department were the first to respond. When they reached the car, resting a half-mile down the tracks, volunteers were stricken to discover a co-worker and friend. Gilman died at the scene.
None of the 10-car Amtrak train's 49 passengers were injured.
"My people performed excellently and did the job they had to do, regardless of the circumstances," said unit Chief Brad Price, noting that they "fell apart afterward."
Gilman became a Seffner-Mango firefighter last spring. He was enthusiastic and proud of his work, Price said.
The death stunned the close-knit community around the Seffner station, up the road from Gilman's family's home. A former student at Armwood High, Gilman participated in the Revival Outreach Center's Youth Ministry, said youth minister Justin Wilson. Gilman, who had an older brother and two younger siblings, stopped attending the ministry several years ago.
The Seffner-Mango Volunteer Fire Department is looking into ways to help the family.
Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com
[Last modified January 27, 2005, 09:33:08]
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