One person was killed and several others were injured after a boat crashed into the rear of a ferry and then fled the scene in Florida.

 

A ferry transporting families from a popular sand sculpting festival in Florida was struck by a recreational boat in what appears to have been a hit-and-run Sunday evening, resulting in one fatality and several injuries, according to police and witnesses.

Brenda Alvarez, who is eight months pregnant, was on the ferry with her husband and two young children when they heard a crew member shouting, “Hey, hey, hey!” The family, speaking to CNN affiliate WFTS, said Alvarez’s husband turned around to see a large boat crash into the ferry.

“The other boat shattered the whole back of the ferry and left a huge dent,” Brenda Alvarez told WFTS. “We can’t understand how fast they were going.”

The ferry was carrying passengers to and from the Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater, with around 45 people onboard, including two crew members, police said.

The incident occurred at approximately 8:40 p.m. ET near the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge. Officers arrived to find a chaotic scene, with “good Samaritans” using their own boats to help evacuate passengers.

The ferry had come to a stop on a sandbar, and some passengers were able to walk to shore, while firefighters had to enter the water to assist others, according to Clearwater police spokesperson Rob Shaw.

Six people were listed as “trauma alerts,” including two who were seriously injured and airlifted from the scene. One of the injured later died. The US Coast Guard confirmed early Monday that one person had died, and 12 people were transported to a local hospital.

The incident was declared a “mass casualty” by the fire department due to the number of injuries, and all the injured were on the ferry, police said. Shaw confirmed there were no missing passengers from the ferry.

Kristin Vincelli, another attendee at the festival, shared video with CNN showing emergency vehicles responding to the scene.

The boat that struck the ferry fled the scene, but authorities have identified it through other law enforcement efforts. The US Coast Guard reported that six people were believed to be aboard the recreational boat, and several agencies responded to the collision, including crews from the Coast Guard’s Station Sand Key.

Authorities have released few details about the boat, but Shaw urged any witnesses with more information or video to come forward.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will lead the investigation into the crash, Clearwater police confirmed.