April 28 (UPI) -- One person died and 12 were injured in a private boat's hit-and-run collision with a public ferry carrying 45 people in western Florida, authorities said.
The crash occurred at around 8:40 p.m. EDT Sunday off the Memorial Causeway Bridge in Clearwater. It was the end of the 17-day Sugar Sand Festival, a sand sculpting event.
A 37-foot boat carrying six people collided with the Clearwater Ferry, operated by Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. The ferry, which carried 45 people, including two crew members, came to rest on a sandbar just south of the bridge. The other boat was found 3 1/2 miles from the scene at the Belleair Boat Ramp.
The Clearwater Police Department released webcam video of the crash.
Victims were taken to four hospitals, including Orlando Health Bayfront in St. Petersburg, the only Level II trauma center in Pinellas County. Two helicopters and 10 ambulances were used and six patients were declared trauma alerts.
By Monday night, eight injured passengers were released from BayCare hospitals in Pinellas County and Tampa,
The fatality was identified as a passenger in the ferry. Jose Castro, 41, of Palm Harbor.
Injuries of those hospitalized included broken bones, soft tissue damage and head injuries.
"Upon arrival our crews were inundated with a great deal of patients," Emergency Management Services Chief Tony Tedesco said Monday at a news conference.
It was classified as a mass casualty incident when "there are more victims than resources," he said.
"Our top priority is we needed to find the most injured," Tedesco said. "We took many trauma alerts."
"We had great good Samaritans bringing people. We were inundated with 30 to 40 people coming at you with many boats. Us having to sift through that."
Rescuers, including some who went into the shallow water, were with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Coast Guard, Clearwater police and fire, and Pinellas County personnel.
There were no speed limits in the area, and no arrests have been made yet.
The incident is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard.
FWC said the boat operator tested at 0.00 in a breath alcohol sample.
"We're committed, if a hit-and-run occurred here, and people were injured ... we're committed to working those charges all the way through," FWC Capt. Matthew Dallarosa said.
The ferry was traveling east of the channel near the bridge, and the recreational boat was behind.
"There's a point of impact where it looks to be that it overrode nearly three-quarters of the ferry," Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy said.
A witness on the water taxi described what happened.
"It's very scary," Brenda Alvarez, who is 31 weeks pregnant, told WFTS-TV. "I fell between two seats, and my whole body hurts right now. We just wanted to get to our cars and get home. You never expect anything to happen. We can't understand how fast they were going, like how that was even logically possible that they hit and were able to get off like that.
"We have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old with us, and I'm pregnant, and I don't know, it's horrible. It shattered the whole back of the boat, left a huge dent."
Marco Vacheco, who was on the ferry, told WTSP: "It was like a big yacht, it hit from behind, like it came through where the captain sits, like he was pinned down."
The Clearwater Ferry was initially a privately owned water taxi to shuttle between downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach in 2015. PSTA took over the service earlier this year.
The company's website shows the three vessels it owns.
Boats depart every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The transit authority and Clearwater Ferry released a joint statement Monday: "We are heartbroken for the person who lost their life, everyone who was hurt, and their families. We deeply appreciate the dedication of the first responders and others who rushed to help Sunday night. We are cooperating with the investigation. Safety is the top priority for PSTA and the Clearwater Ferry."
