By John Pacenti
Delray Beach on April 10 announced it was firing David Wyatt, the firefighter who was at the wheel of the aerial fire truck struck by a Brightline train in December. Video released by Brightline showed the large fire truck maneuvering around a lowered railroad crossing gate as the train approached.
Wyatt, under the firefighters’ contract, had 10 days to request a meeting with City Manager Terrence Moore to plead his case. He did, and city spokeswoman Gina Carter said the meeting was to take place before May 1.
“The train collision on December 28 was more than a traffic incident,” Moore said in an email announcing Wyatt’s employment termination. “It was a moment that tested the integrity of our public safety system and shook the confidence of the community we serve.”
Wyatt has been on paid administrative leave while the city investigated. His termination was set to be effective April 28.
The crash left about a dozen train passengers injured — as well as Wyatt and fire truck passengers Capt. Brian Fiorey and firefighter Joseph Fiumara III. The fire truck was en route to a reported kitchen fire at a condo building at 365 SE Sixth Ave. However, according to dispatch recordings, another unit on scene had called in to say the fire was contained around the same time as the crash was reported.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office found Wyatt failed to use “due care” as he drove the ladder truck into the path of the passenger train.
In announcing Wyatt’s termination, Moore said the Brightline crash “revealed a pattern of carelessness and poor judgment that went beyond an isolated error.”
The Coastal Star in January reported about an earlier, off-duty crash involving Wyatt. In that June 2023 crash, he drove his car into a tree in downtown Delray Beach. Police investigated Wyatt for a possible DUI but said in a report that obtaining a breathalyzer or a blood test was not feasible because the firefighter had been transported to a hospital.
He was charged with careless driving. There was no DUI charge.
Court records showed that Wyatt didn’t initially go to traffic school to resolve the careless driving citation, which resulted in his license being suspended. An independent investigation discovered he had driven Delray Beach fire trucks during the time his license was suspended in late 2023.
The report by the labor firm Johnson Jackson, released Feb. 25, said Wyatt should have taken leave to address the license suspension. The city discovered that 10 fire department employees had not reported having suspended licenses in the recent past.
Wyatt told the investigator that he was unaware of the license suspension until this year. The investigator wrote that Wyatt’s response “raises question(s) as to his credibility on this issue,” the report stated.
A call to a telephone number associated with Wyatt went unanswered.
After the city’s announcement of Wyatt’s termination, the firefighters’ union, IAFF Local 1842, wrote to Moore saying the city fired Wyatt without a formal hearing.
The union requested that Moore convene a panel of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The union’s statement was posted on its Facebook page. IAFF Local 1842 did not return a message seeking further comment.
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