Update: Missing 15-year-old found safe

Police investigating Brightline vs car wreck near Commerce Avenue

VERO BEACH — A driver escaped serious injuries after a Brightline train collided with her vehicle Monday morning, police said. Officers closed two roads in the immediate area for a little more than an hour to investigate the crash. Police responded to reports of a wreck involving Brightline and a white BMW car about 10:03 a.m. along the tracks near Commerce Avenue, 20th Place and 21st Street, said Officer Kelsea Callahan, a spokesperson for the Vero Beach Police Department. Officers arrived within two minutes. "The driver was still in the vehicle during impact but she did not have any injuries," Callahan said.  "She refused to be transported to the hospital." Callahan said the crossing arms, flashing red lights and siren ...

Huge backups on first day of bridge closure

The first two days of the week-long total closure of the 17th Street Bridge went about as expected – with long lines on the alternate route between the island and the mainland of Vero Beach, the Merrill P. Barber Bridge and its approaches. Motorists traveling between the island and the mainland found out that it took them about twice as long as normal to reach their destinations as all traffic that normally takes the 17th Street Bridge, about 20,000 vehicles per day and perhaps more in season – was detoured and rerouted to the Barber bridge. The Vero Beach Police Department warned motorists about delays and said it had officers out on Indian River Boulevard Tuesday to help direct the ...

Phone, clothing left behind helps police nab Mulligan’s robbery suspect

VERO BEACH — A phone with text messages and calls to a getaway driver and a Mulligan's employee, along with DNA extracted from a mask, helped detectives make an arrest in the armed robbery of a beachside restaurant that occurred in mid-August. Officers said the suspect left behind his phone, mask, and other items during his escape. After the robbery, the suspect met up with the Mulligan's employee at a barbecue in Gifford, reports show. Police on Wednesday arrested Sederick Maurice Upton, 43, of the 2400 block of 42nd Street, Gifford, on charges of robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping or false imprisonment and burglary with assault. Upton was held Saturday at the Indian River ...