At least one person was killed and several others injured in a “mass casualty incident” when a private boat plowed into a ferry in Florida before fleeing the scene, authorities said.
The deadly crash unfolded just before 9 p.m. Sunday when the ferry carrying 45 passengers was struck near the Memorial Causeway Bridge in Clearwater, with images showing the devastating damage it suffered.
“The fire department declared it a mass casualty incident because of the number and severity of injuries,” Clearwater Police Department said.
The deadly crash unfolded just before 9 p.m. Sunday when the ferry carrying 45 passengers was struck near the Memorial Causeway Bridge in Clearwater.
“The fire department declared it a mass casualty incident because of the number and severity of injuries,” Clearwater Police Department said. ZUMAPRESS.com
The crash has been declared a mass casualty event. ZUMAPRESS.com“Six patients were declared as trauma alerts, with two of those being transported by helicopter.”
Details on the person who died weren’t immediately available, with cops only saying he “later died from his injuries.”
The private boat, which was carrying six people, immediately fled after crashing into the ferry, authorities said. It was later tracked down by law enforcement.
“The ferry came to rest on a sandbar just south of the Memorial Causeway Bridge. All patients and passengers have been removed.”
Footage on social media showed scores of first responders flooding the scene after the passenger ferry came to rest on a sandbar just south of the bridge.
The private boat, which was carrying six people, immediately fled after crashing into the ferry, authorities said. It was later tracked down by law enforcement. AP
The boat crash “with multiple serious injuries” happened just before 9 p.m., according to the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department. Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department / FacebookThe ferry’s roof appeared to have caved in and chairs could be seen piled on top of each other.
Brenda Alvarez, a pregnant passenger on board the ferry, suggested to ABC Action News that the private boat was traveling at a high speed in the moments before the collision.
Emergency crews transported two patients to the hospital by helicopter. ZUMAPRESS.com“You never expect anything to happen. We can’t understand how fast they were going, like how that was even logically possible that they hit and were able to get off like that,” she said.
“It shattered the whole back of the boat, left a huge dent.”
Alvarez said she was taking herself to the hospital to get checked out given she is 31 weeks pregnant.
“It’s very scary. I fell between two seats, and my whole body hurts right now. We just wanted to get to our cars and get home. You never expect anything to happen,” she said.
The accident happened at the end of the 17-day Sugar Sand Festival and many people were taking the ferry back and forth for the festival.
The US Coast Guard and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission are probing the cause of the crash.
