On the evening of April 27, a privately owned boat crashed into a ferry near Florida's Memorial Causeway and the driver has issued an odd claim about what happened.
Police have confirmed that the crash occurred at 8.30pm and at the time dubbed a ‘mass casualty incident'.
It was later confirmed that one individual on the ferry died of their injuries while at least 10 individuals riding on the ferry were taken to the hospital due to their injuries.
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The driver of the private boat has been identified as Jeffry Knight and at the time of writing has not been criminally charged for the crash.
Newly released footage by the police shows the moment that the boat crashed and landed atop the ferry.
Knight’s lawyer, J. Kevin Hayslett, issued a statement via letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on April 29.
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The statement read: “Multiple witnesses have reported that the ferry appeared inadequately illuminated, and that in the moments before the collision, the captain and many passengers were distracted by dolphins in the area, diminishing navigational awareness.
“It appears that just prior to the accident, someone on the ferry was shining a spotlight in the channel, which would confirm reports that they were looking at dolphins."
Knight has also denied that he fled the scene despite media reports and insisted he stayed at the scene as long as possible, but had to leave due to his own boat taking in water and him becoming concerned for the safety of a baby aboard his vessel.
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Information officer Rob Shaw with the City of Clearwater previously said: "We believe the boat responsible for hitting the ferry left the scene immediately and we believe our law enforcement partners are at another location with that boat right now, but we are still asking anybody who has information anyone that witnessed anything anyone that may have any video to contact us."
Hayslett addressed this, saying: “The frantic mother of an infant on board pleaded for immediate transport following the crash because she was concerned that her 8-week-old child may have suffered injuries.
“Given the circumstances … he prudently determined that returning to dock as quickly as possible was the best course of action.”
The letter also alleges that Knight instructed a passenger to call 911 after the crash and spoke to them for 12 minutes.
Gerrard Kaonga