It’s safe to say that people aren’t happy that Brightline trains have struck and killed over 190 people since 2017. Attendants at a small-town Christmas parade in South Florida were shocked to see a float making fun of the startup intercity railroad. The signage draped alongside the float read, “Grandma got run over by a Brightline.” And yes, the train-themed float did win a pair of awards at the VNA Stuart Christmas Parade: the Judges Choice Award and the Large Float Classic Christmas Award.
The light-covered locomotive might be the float’s focus. There are plenty of other elements that only add to the hilarity. Behind the train, two people were sitting on lawn chairs behind railroad crossing barriers. At the front of the float, people were holding signs reading “trains may exceed 80 mph.” Despite the praise from judges, WPEC reported that some people found the float to be offensive because of the train’s fatal incidents. The float was created by the Philip DeBerard Family Foundation, a community non-profit honoring the memory of a local personal injury attorney. His son Philip DeBerard IV said in a release:…