5 Things To Know About Deadly FL Ferry Crash

CLEARWATER, FL — The investigation continues into why a recreational boat police said was driven by the owner of a popular St. Pete music venue slammed into the back of a passenger ferry bringing 44 people from Clearwater Beach to the mainland. One person died and at least 10 others were injured.

The crash happened Sunday evening as the 37-foot-long boat, which had six people aboard, plowed into the privately owned Clearwater Ferry around 8:40 p.m. After the crash, the ferry came to rest on a sandbar just south of the Memorial Causeway Bridge.

The other boater left the scene and went to the Belleair Causeway Boat Ramp, where he was contacted by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

• Also Read: 1 Dead, 12 Hospitalized In Clearwater Ferry Crash

As FWC investigators continue to look into the circumstances of the incident, here are five things to know about the deadly crash:

1. A Palm Harbor man was killed in the crash.

FWC officials identified 41-year-old Jose Castro, a Palm Harbor man, as the sole person killed in the crash. No other details about Castro have been released yet.

Fire officials declared the crash a mass casualty incident when it was reported because of the number and severity of injuries.

Six patients were declared trauma alerts, with two of them being brought to a local hospital by helicopter, police said. Castro later died from his injuries.

The Coast Guard said in a social media post that on-scene reports indicate that all people on the ferry and the recreational boat were accounted for. In an update, the Coast Guard said 12 people were taken to a local hospital.

Those injured suffered broken bones, orthopedic injuries, head injuries and soft tissue injuries, authorities said Monday.

2. Jannus Live’s owner was identified as the hit-and-run boat operator.

Jeffrey Knight, 62, the owner of Jannus Live, a downtown St. Petersburg outdoor music venue, was identified by authorities as the driver of the boat that hit the Clearwater Ferry and left the scene.

Knight took over what was then called Jannus Landing in 2009 after its previous operator faced legal issues, the Tampa Bay Times said.

Through Knight Global Entertainment and other companies, Knight has also had his hand in other downtown entertainment venues, bars and restaurants, reports said.

"This is a heartbreaking situation for everyone involved. Out of deep respect for Mr. Castro’s family, and for the many others who were injured, it would be inappropriate to comment publicly at this time,” Knight’s attorney told WTSP.

3. Alcohol isn’t believed to be a factor in the crash.

A spokesperson for the FWC said during a Monday afternoon news conference, before Knight was publicly identified, that the operator of the boat willingly provided a breath alcohol sample, which showed no sign of alcohol.

The driver voluntarily took a Breathalyzer test that registered a .000, the FWC spokesperson said.

There have been no arrests or charges filed in the crash as of late Monday, the agency said.

4. Knight was previously involved in a deadly boating incident.

Sunday night’s crash isn’t the first fatal boating incident that Knight has been involved in.

On Jan. 18, 2012, while socializing on his yacht — Pure Knight Life, which was docked near what was then called the Renaissance Vinoy Resort — a 49-year-old St. Petersburg man on board died after slipping while stepping from the boat and hitting his head, the Tampa Bay Times said.

The victim’s friends, including Knight, pulled him from the water.

The man had alcohol and cocaine in his system, reports said. The Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office determined he drowned.

His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Knight.

5. Crew members on a pirate ship were the first to assist the Clearwater Ferry victims.

The captain of a pirate cruise ship was among the first to spot the deadly Clearwater Ferry crash and call it in to authorities.

“We're doing an activity with the kids and all the people,” Andrew Triglio, first mate for Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise, told WTSP. “Then we noticed the boat to the side of us drifting with the roof all messed up, and they were screaming to help us, and then we jumped into action from there.”

“Mayday, mayday, mayday! There’s been a boat collision. The Clearwater ferry, underneath the Clearwater Memorial Causeway. The Clearwater ferry is adrift,” according to mayday transmission audio made after the crash released by the Coast Guard, WFLA said.

Triglio also said he saw the boat that hit the ferry lingering for a few minutes after the crash and he initially thought they were also Good Samaritans helping the victims — until it abruptly left the scene.

“We thought it was a passenger helping them, like another boat, because we didn't see who hit them,” he said. “It may have been that boat, and then knocked [the ferry] into the sandbar, and they took off.”