Clearwater, Florida (WFLA) – Passengers aboard the boat, which hit Clearwater ferry on Sunday, written letters to investigators wrote in detail what they have experienced tonight.
Jose Castro was killed and 10 people were injured after the entertainment boat, run by Jannus Live owner Jeff Knight, stuck in the back of the ferry near the Memorial Caayyei Memorial Bridge.
“My son’s death cannot
Three women – Alexis Ringle, Daniel Eli and Catherine Talbert – described what led to the crash and consequences of their written statements. Women say they drink alcoholic beverages at dinner before they went on the boat, but they said Jeff had no ones. They insisted that no one used drugs before or after dinner.
Talbert described the area as “really dark” and the crash as “out of nowhere.”
“Where were their lights?” Two witnesses reported that Knight was saying that after hitting the other ship.
Alexis Ringle describes the fatal ferry crash
“A kid called me to help them and I saw a man bleeding badly from his head,” Ringle writes.
In their sworn statements, the women said Knight tied the boat to the ferry, which was attached, and suggested that they bring injured passengers ashore. They said they stayed at the scene, and the ring was on the phone with 911 operators for 11 minutes before Jeff found out that their boat was taking water. They only left after the arrival of help, their statements said.
They described that they were approaching from the office boat of the sheriff of Pinelas County. The baby and their mother Blair were removed from the vessel and before being drawn to the ramp of Belleair boat, about 3.5 miles from where the crash occurred.
Knight’s lawyer said his “actions arose under considerable pressure” as he was both concerned about the 8-week-old baby, passengers of the two ships who were shaken or wounded, a boat that took water and coordinated with emergency staff. The lawyer reiterated that the ferry did not show the correct lights as required by law.
“From the sworn statements of witnesses who are already in your possession, as well as from the video protection evidence, there is consistent and credible evidence that no strict light was visible during the incident,” writes lawyer J. Kevin Hayeslet in the letter to the investigators.
In his statement, Ringle said she was questioned by an officer who “looked excited” because she “can’t) remember a lot.”
Jeff Knight’s boat was detained by FWC after the Ferry Ferry crash (WFLA)
“He also said to another cop as he got into the truck that it was the second or the third time he got involved with” this man “if he assumed he was talking about Jeff,” Ringle writes.
Knight faced court cases in 2019 and 2012, including his boat and injuries. The 2012 case claims that a man fell from the knight’s yacht, hit his head and drowned. Later, this case was rejected.
Who is Jeff Knight? FWC’s Legal History says she has participated in the Ferry Ferry crash
In 2019, Knight’s motorboat hit a Pontoon boat, leaving two women seriously injured. The case was settled for a confidential amount. He was cited for negligent work on a ship and a collision of a ship, but both accusations were rejected in 2020.
No accusations have been charged on Sunday. Knight withdrew from the Jannus Live management team on Wednesday.
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