One Dead, Several Injured in Clearwater Ferry Crash

A fatal maritime accident occurred near Clearwater, Florida's Memorial Causeway Bridge when a privately owned boat struck a ferry carrying 45 people, including two crew members, and then fled the scene. The crash resulted in one death and multiple injuries, with six individuals designated as trauma alerts and two requiring airlift to hospitals. All injuries were sustained by ferry passengers, and authorities quickly accounted for everyone onboard, evacuating them after the ferry came to rest on a sandbar. The incident was declared a mass casualty event, prompting a large emergency response. Law enforcement has since identified the fleeing vessel, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, along with the US Coast Guard, has launched an investigation into the hit-and-run collision. The crash occurred as the 17-day Sugar Sand Festival was concluding, with many people using the ferry for transportation.