Jacksonville Firefighter/Paramedic Josue Garcia-Otero and his wife helped treat critically injured passengers after surviving a high-speed rail collision that killed at least 68 people

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville firefighter and his wife, a nurse, helped provide emergency care to injured passengers after a high-speed train they were traveling on collided in central Spain, killing at least 68 people.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Firefighter Josue Garcia-Otero was riding with his wife, Diamary Garcia, and six other relatives on a family trip following a wedding when the collision occurred on Oct. 28, First Coast News reported. The family is safe, officials said.

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“We got to safety first, then began treating other patients that were critically injured,” Garcia-Otero said. “My wife is a nurse, and she was helping too.”

Garcia-Otero has served with the department for four years and is assigned to its Critical Care Team, made up of its most highly trained paramedics.

The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha confirmed the death toll of at least 68 and said 58 more people needed hospital treatment, with rescue crews still searching the wreckage for survivors and bodies.

The RENFE train carried 397 passengers and the IRYO train 147, according to a regional government spokeswoman. The collision knocked two IRYO cars off the track between the towns of Urda and Los Yébenes. The fire department did not specify which train the family was riding.

The crash was Spain’s second deadly high-speed rail collision this year. In January, an IRYO train derailed in southern Spain and struck an oncoming RENFE train, killing 46 people. Before 2026, the country’s dedicated high-speed lines had not recorded a fatal crash since opening in 1992.

Garcia-Otero and his wife are focused on returning home, the department said.

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