Boat Plows Into Ferry, Flees Scene In 'Mass Casualty Incident'

At least one person has died and several others were injured during a "mass casualty incident" in which a private boat plowed into a ferry and fled the scene in Florida, the Clearwater Police Department confirmed in a post shared on its Facebook account.

"The fire department declared it a mass casualty incident because of the number and severity of injuries. Six patients were declared as trauma alerts, with two of those being transported by helicopter. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be handling the crash investigation, with assistance from the Coast Guard," the department said.

The incident took place just prior to 9:00 p.m. local time on Sunday (April 27). The ferry was reported to be carrying 45 people when it was struck by the boat carrying six people near the Memorial Causeway Bridge in Clearwater, which resulted in devastating damage, according to the United States Coast Guard.

"#Update 1 person is reported deceased and 12 people were transported to a local hospital. @MyFWC is leading the investigation into the cause of the collision. #SAR," the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast wrote on its X account.

Details on the one confirmed death were not immediately available, however, Clearwater Police public information officer Rob Shaw said the person later died from injuries sustained via WFTS. Brenda Alvarez, who was on the ferry traveling to the local Sugar Sand Festival with her husband and two young children, told WFTS that the crash resulted in "the whole back of the boat" being "shattered" and "left a huge dent."

“We can’t understand how fast they were going,” she said, referring to the boat that collided with the ferry.

Alvarez, who is about eight months pregnant, told the news station that her family was headed to the hospital to get checked at the time. Limited details were made public about the boat that hit the ferry, though Shaw told WFTS that police "believe our law enforcement partners are at another location with the boat" while also urging any witnesses to provide authorities with information or video of the crash.