One person is dead and multiple people are injured after a boat collided with a ferry in Clearwater, Florida, on Sunday night, officials said.
The Clearwater Ferry was carrying 45 people when a boat struck it and fled, the city of Clearwater said in a statement. The ferry came to a stop on a sandbar under the Memorial Causeway bridge.
“We believe that the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately, and we believe that our law enforcement partners may have that boat,” Clearwater Police spokesperson Rob Shaw said.
One person died from injuries suffered in the collision, the city said.
It was not immediately clear how many people were injured. Police stated that all the injured were passengers.
All were removed from the vessel, police said.
"We are heartbroken for the person who lost their life, everyone who was hurt, and their families," the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and Clearwater Ferry said in a Monday statement. "We deeply appreciate the dedication of the first responders and others who rushed to help Sunday night. We are cooperating with the investigation."
The city said that the fleeing boat has been identified and that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will lead the investigation.
Two seriously injured passengers were flown by helicopter to hospitals, the police department said. Bayfront Hospital received one patient with a femur fracture and one with unknown injuries, an Orlando Health spokesman said.
The Clearwater Fire Department declared the crash a “mass casualty incident” because so many people were injured. Shaw said there were six trauma alerts.
Shaw said that officers are still working to account for all of the people who were on the ferry but that he believes everyone has been rescued.
Clearwater police are leading the investigation with assistance from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. The Coast Guard is on the scene, it said on X.
A spokesperson for the Clearwater Ferry confirmed that the vessel was involved in an accident on Sunday but declined to provide further information, citing the ongoing investigation.
Clearwater is about 23 miles northwest of St. Petersburg.
