WFTV obtained video of a man playing a dangerous game of chicken with an oncoming SunRail train in the heart of downtown Orlando.
The video was shot on Sunday shortly before Orlando City Soccer played its historic first MLS game at the Citrus Bowl, but that's no excuse for people to play games that sometimes end in death, officials said.
The video shows the train approaching Church Street Station, with the engineer blowing the horn as a standard warning. As the train gets closer, a man walks out on the tracks, stands there for a couple seconds watching the train approach and then calmly walks off.
"I was just speechless," said witness Christian Johnson, who shot the video from his cellphone. "(The bystanders) were making hand gestures toward him, 'Get off the tracks. Get off the tracks.'"
Johnson said the man missed getting clipped by about 15 feet.
WFTV has covered crashes and even deaths from trains. In fact, Florida ranks in the Top 10 in the nation for fatalities with 10 last year.
A freight train struck and killed a man in Seminole County and in Maitland, a train slammed into a car on the tracks. The driver barely made it out.
Then, a SunRail train heading into Longwood hit a landscaping trailer.
Officials said walking across the tracks at a non-crossing is considered trespassing, but doing it once the crossing arm is down is considered unlawful and is a felony.
