One person is dead and 12 others hurt when a recreational boat struck a Clearwater Ferry in Florida late Sunday, officials said.
Jose Castro, 41, was killed and more than a dozen passengers were injured when the ferry was struck from behind by a 37-foot privately owned boat that took off after the collision.
Authorities later located the boat near Belleair Boat Ramp. Its operator, Jeff Knight, 62, was submitted to a Breathalyzer test and was cooperating with investigators.
Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg was first notified of the collision at around 8:40 p.m.
Officials said there was “definitely a point where these boats were fully entangled” near the Memorial Causeway Bridge.
The ferry ended up on a sandbar south of the bridge. Rescuers were able to remove “all patients and passengers” from the ferry.
“We were just enjoying the ride, and then all of a sudden, we hear the first mate yelling, ‘Hey, hey, hey,’” a passenger recalled.
“And then we looked back behind us, and this big yacht just came through the boat.”
