Posted: Apr 28, 2025 / 12:20 PM EDT
Updated: Apr 28, 2025 / 12:48 PM EDT
CLEARWATER, Fla. – One person is dead, and six others are seriously injured following a hit-and-run crash Sunday night involving the Clearwater Ferry and a boat.
According to the Coast Guard, the Clearwater Ferry had 45 people on board, and two of the injured victims were airlifted to a nearby hospital as trauma alerts.
Credit: ReportIT/Rita Besser
Everyone on the boat has been accounted for, with numerous victims going to multiple hospitals in the area.
“We had a number of people transported to the hospital. The fire department has declared it a mass casualty incident because of the number of injuries and the severity of the injuries,” said Rob Shaw, Clearwater Fire and Rescue public information officer.
Clearwater Police Department and Clearwater Fire & Rescue were on the scene of the crash after a call came in around 8:43 p.m.
We’re told the scene was intense and terrifying last night for families trying to get off the ferry to safety.
“It was quite a chaotic scene when we got here. There were some patients being picked up by neighboring boats. Good Samaritans were trying to help, there were other patients who were walking ashore because some of the shallow waters here off the bridge, so they were able to. Those who could were able to walk ashore and get medical help,” Shaw said.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, they are in possession of the boat that hit the ferry.
FWC is now taking over the investigation.
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