Community Raises Money To Pay Funeral Costs Of Man Killed In FL Ferry Crash

CLEARWATER, FL — The community is rallying around the family of the 41-year-old Palm Harbor man killed Sunday night when the Clearwater Ferry was hit by a private boat officials said was driven by Jannus Live owner Jeffrey Knight.

More than $33,000 has been raised for Jose Castro’s family in a GoFundMe fundraiser as of Thursday afternoon.

The U.S. postal worker and father of two young girls, affectionately called “Pepe,” was killed in the boat crash that injured at least 10 others.

The money raised will be used to pay for Castro’s funeral and to fly his family in from Peru, according to the GoFundMe page.

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Castro’s family is also demanding justice following the fatal incident. They say they don’t understand why Knight hasn’t been arrested.

“I want this guy to pay for what he did, for what we’re going through right now,” Castro’s sister, Sandy Todd, told the Tampa Bay Times. “My family is destroyed.”

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.

Todd said her family immigrated to the U.S. from Peru about 20 years ago. She described her brother 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. “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.”