One Killed and Several Injured After Boat Crashes into Ferry

A tragic crash on Sunday evening left one person dead and 12 others injured after a boat slammed into the Clearwater Ferry in Clearwater, Florida.

According to the Clearwater Police Department, all of the injured were ferry passengers. The ferry had 45 people onboard at the time, including two crew members, when it was struck by a passing boat.

The situation quickly escalated into a mass casualty event, with the fire department declaring it as such due to the number of injuries. Clearwater PD posted on X that multiple trauma alerts were issued, and helicopters airlifted two of the more seriously injured victims to local hospitals.

The crash happened near the Memorial Causeway Bridge around 8:40 p.m., according to the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, which was notified shortly after the incident.

Adding to the chaos, the boat that hit the ferry fled the scene. Authorities said it was eventually located by another responding agency, but details about the vessel and its occupants remain scarce for now.

After the collision, the ferry ended up stranded on a sandbar just south of the bridge. Emergency crews moved quickly to safely evacuate all passengers and patients.

One ferry passenger shared his harrowing experience with WFTS, Tampa’s ABC affiliate, recalling how a routine family outing turned terrifying in an instant.

“We were just enjoying the ride, and then all of a sudden we hear the first mate yelling, ‘Hey, hey, hey,'” the passenger said. “Then we looked back and saw this big yacht just plow through the boat.” The man was riding with his two kids and his wife, who is 31 weeks pregnant with their third child.

The Coast Guard later confirmed there were six people aboard the recreational boat that caused the crash. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is now leading the investigation.

As the community processes the shocking event, officials are still working to piece together exactly what went wrong on the water that night.