- One person has died and multiple others have been seriously injured after a boat struck a ferry in Florida
- Police said the boat left the scene following the crash in Clearwater on Sunday, April 27
- “The fire department declared it a mass casualty incident because of the number and severity of injuries,” Clearwater Police said
One person has been killed and multiple others are seriously injured following a boat crash in Florida.
A boat struck a Clearwater Ferry carrying over 40 people near the Memorial Causeway bridge in Clearwater before leaving the scene at around 8:40 p.m. local time on Sunday, April 27, the Clearwater Police announced in a Facebook post.
Authorities declared the crash a “mass casualty incident” with “multiple serious injuries.” Police confirmed that one person died from their injuries. The male victim has not been identified at this time.
“The fire department declared it a mass casualty incident because of the number and severity of injuries,” police shared in their post. “Six patients were declared as trauma alerts, with two of those being transported by helicopter.”
All injuries in the crash were from the ferry, police confirmed on X. All patients and passengers were eventually removed from the ferry as it came to rest south of the Memorial Causeway bridge.
Douglas R Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
The ferry was transporting crowds of people back and forth for the Sugar Sand Festival that concluded on Sunday, CNN reported.
One passenger told ABC affiliate WFTS, “We were just enjoying the ride, and then all of a sudden we hear the first mate yelling, ‘Hey, hey, hey.’ And then we looked back behind us and this big yacht just came through the boat.”
The six people on board the boat that crashed into the ferry reportedly left the scene. The boat was later located by another law enforcement agency, ABC News reported, citing the U.S. Coast Guard and Clearwater Police.
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Douglas R Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be leading the investigation into the crash, police said.
Police spokesperson Rob Shaw told WFTS that authorities are urging any witnesses with information about the crash to come forward.
PEOPLE has contacted the Clearwater Police and U.S. Coast Guard for further comment.
Credit: dotdashmeredith.com
