One Dead, Multiple Injured in Clearwater Boat-Ferry Collision

A boat collided with a passenger ferry carrying approximately 45 people near the Memorial Causeway Bridge in Clearwater, Florida, resulting in one death and several injuries. The incident, which occurred on Sunday night after a local sand sculpture festival, was declared a 'mass casualty incident' by authorities. All of the injured were ferry passengers, with six classified as trauma alerts and two airlifted to hospitals. The boat that struck the ferry fled the scene but was later identified by law enforcement. Emergency crews quickly evacuated all passengers from the ferry, which came to rest on a sandbar. The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission are leading the ongoing investigation into the crash.