A ferry transporting passengers from the Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater, Florida, was struck by a recreational boat on Sun day evening.
The crash resulted in one passenger on the ferry being killed and left several others injured.
The driver of the recreational boat fled the scene of the accident.
Rob Shaw the director of information for City of Clearwater, shared, “We believe the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately and we believe our law enforcement partners are at another location with that boat right now, but we are still asking anybody who has information anyone that witnessed anything anyone that may have any video to contact us.”
Here’s a video of the crash:
WATCH: FATAL FERRY HIT AND RUN CAPTURED ON WEBCAM
At least 1 dead, 12 injured in ‘mass casualty’ event when boat plowed into ferry in Clearwater Florida before fleeing scene. 6 were seriously injured and two were air-evaced. The ferry came to rest on a sandbar. Initial reports… pic.twitter.com/rPZ0n9N1Vf
— The Space Coast Rocket (@CoastRocket) April 28, 2025
At least one person was killed and 12 others injured after a collision between a privately-owned boat and a ferry in Clearwater, Florida. @victoroquendo reports. pic.twitter.com/AKAEefrGJV
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 28, 2025
Per CNN:
A ferry ushering families from a popular sand sculpting competition in Florida was struck by a recreational boat Sunday evening in an apparent hit-and-run, killing one ferry passenger and injuring several others, police and witnesses said.
Brenda Alvarez, who is about eight months pregnant, was on the ferry with her husband and two young children when a crew member started yelling, “Hey, hey hey!” the family told CNN affiliate WFTS.
Alvarez’s husband turned around to see a large boat “just come through” the ferry, he said.
The other boat “shattered the whole back of” the ferry and “left a huge dent,” Brenda Alvarez told WFTS. “We can’t understand how fast they were going.”
The ferry was carrying people to and from the Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater, WFTS reported. About 45 people were on board, including two crew members, police said.
Around 8:40 p.m. ET, authorities were notified that a boat had struck the ferry near the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge, police said.
Picture of the Clearwater ferry that was involved in the incident tonight. pic.twitter.com/lMs4d0eJfY
— Mike’s Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) April 28, 2025
Here’s what ABC Action News reported:
The City of Clearwater said one person has died and multiple injuries have been reported following a boat crash near the Memorial Causeway bridge.
ABC Action News spoke with Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector, who said the Clearwater Ferry was in a collision with a privately owned boat. The ferry can carry 50 people.
“We believe the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately and we believe our law enforcement partners are at another location with that boat right now, but we are still asking anybody who has information anyone that witnessed anything anyone that may have any video to contact us,” said Rob Shaw with the City of Clearwater.
According to Shaw, 45 people were on board the ferry at the time of the crash, including two crew members. Of the injuries, six were listed as trauma alerts. Of those six, two were flown to Baycare Health with various minor injuries.
A passenger, Brenda Alvarez, who is 31 weeks pregnant, told ABC Action News, “We are actually going to go to the hospital right now to get checked because I’m a little worried I haven’t felt the baby move. 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. 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. We have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old with us, and I’m pregnant, and I don’t know, it’s horrible. It shattered the whole back of the boat, left a huge dent.”
At least 1 dead, several injured in ‘mass casualty’ event when boat plowed into ferry in Florida before fleeing scene https://t.co/bTaDr6l4nw pic.twitter.com/Vpg3PMTD7i
— New York Post (@nypost) April 28, 2025
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