At least one dead & multiple injured as ferry crashes into another boat in ‘mass casualty event’ in Florida
A PACKED ferry carrying dozens of festivalgoers was left stranded and battered after a horror hit-and-run crash on the water — leaving one dead and at least a dozen injured.
The Clearwater Ferry was taking passengers back from the final night of Florida’s 17-day Sugar Sand Festival when it was struck by a private boat.
The horror crash unfolded near the Memorial Causeway Bridge just after 10pm Sunday.
Terrifying images show the ferry grounded on a sandbar as emergency crews declared a “mass casualty event” and raced to haul terrified passengers to safety.
Pictures of the aftermath show the boat’s rear smashed in, with chairs collapsed in on themselves and parts of the roof completely destroyed.
Clearwater Police said the private boat fled the scene after the smash.
It was later located with six passengers on board, but nobody was injured.
Cops also cautioned drivers to avoid Memorial Causeway while they urgently rushed patients to various hospitals.
Passenger Marco Vacheco told local outlet 10 Tampa Bay: “It was like a big yacht, it hit from behind, like it came through where the captain sits, like he was pinned down.”
His wife, Brenda Alvarez, hailed brave first responders who waded through shallow waters to rescue their children.
“Where we were, it was really shallow, so there was actually some paramedics that went out there and helped my children and I get off the boat,” she said.
All of those hurt were aboard the ferry, which was carrying 43 passengers and two crew members at the time of the collision.
Six passengers were declared “trauma patients,” with two of them airlifted to hospital by medical helicopters, police said.
The man suspected of being behind the wheel of the boat which fled the scene was pictured walking with an investigator.
One terrified onlooker who witnessed the horror crash said on X: “A regular boat just hit the ferry in Clearwater.
“I think over 4 helicopters airlifting people out so far.”
They added: “I don’t even know how many ambulances are there.
“Every minute there’s more and more. This is awful.”
Emergency services had removed and accounted for every passenger on board the ferry by about 10:30pm, according to cops.
They also confirmed that one person had died from their injuries.
Clearwater Police Department said: “The boat that fled the scene has been identified by another law enforcement agency.”
The US Coast Guard and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission will now launch a probe to investigate the crash.
It comes after an out-of-control speedboat hurtled through the air at 200mph in Arizona.
Dramatic footage showed the vessel smashing into an iconic lake as onlookers watch on in horror.