FL Ferry Crash Victim Remembered By Loved Ones At Funeral

CLEARWATER, FL — The loved ones of Jose Castro, who was killed when a private boat slammed into the back of the Clearwater Ferry the night of April 27, said their final goodbyes to him at his funeral on Saturday.

The 41-year-old Palm Harbor man died and at least 10 others were injured when the boat, driven by Jannus Live owner Jeffrey Knight, crashed into it and left the scene.

Knight said he had to leave the area because his boat was taking on water, according to reports. He went to the Belleair Causeway Boat Ramp, about 3.5 miles away, where he was contacted by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

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Castro’s funeral was held at Moss Feaster Funeral Home in Clearwater with family coming from as far away as Peru.

His niece, Angie Todd, told WTSP outside the funeral home, “He brought so much happiness and for that to be taken away from so many people that are here today — he doesn’t deserve this.”

More than $40,000 has been raised for Jose Castro’s family in a GoFundMe fundraiser as of Monday afternoon.

“We are destroyed, my mom is destroyed. We didn’t deserve my brother's life be taken away like that,” Sandy Todd, the victim’s sister, told ABC Action News.

She previously told the Tampa Bay Times that their family immigrated to the U.S. from Peru about 20 years ago.

She described her brother, a U.S. postal worker, as a family man who was dedicated to his two daughters, Ivory, 8, and Jolene, 3. He also leaves behind their mother, 27-year-old Jenny Hernandez.

While their youngest daughter doesn’t understand what happened to her father, their oldest is upset.

“She’s just crying for her dad,” Hernandez told the Times in the days after the crash. “She was just in shock. She couldn’t believe that there was an accident and that he was the only one that didn’t survive.”

There have been no arrests made in the deadly crash, though Castro’s family is calling for Knight to face consequences.

"We need justice for him," Angie Todd told Fox 13. "We need justice, these girls that he's leaving behind."