CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — Passengers onboard the boat that struck a Clearwater ferry on Sunday wrote sworn letters to investigators detailing what they experienced that night.
José Castro was killed and 10 people were injured after the recreational boat, operated by Jannus Live owner Jeff Knight, slammed into the back of the ferry near the Memorial Causeway Bridge.
‘My son’s death cannot go unpunished’: Mother of man killed in Clearwater ferry crash speaks out
Three women – Alexis Ringel, Danielle Ely and Kathryn Talbert – described what led up to the crash and its aftermath in their written statements. The women reported having alcoholic drinks at dinner before getting on the boat, but said Jeff did not have any. They insisted no one used drugs before or after dinner.
Talbert described the area as being “really dark” and the crash as “out of nowhere.”
“Where the f*** were their lights?” two of the witnesses reported Knight saying after striking the other vessel.
Alexis Ringel describes the fatal ferry crash
“A kid cried to me to help them and I saw a man bleeding badly from his head,” Ringel wrote.
In their sworn statements, the women said Knight tied the boat to the ferry, which was adrift, and offered to bring injured passengers to shore. They said they remained at the scene and Ringel was on the phone with 911 operators for 11 minutes before Jeff realized their boat was taking on water. They left only after help arrived, their statements said.
They described being approached by a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office boat. An infant and their mother, Blair, were removed from the vessel and before it was towed to the Belleair Boat Ramp, around 3.5 miles away from where the crash occurred.
Knight’s attorney said his “actions occurred under considerable pressure,” as he was simultaneously concerned with the 8-week-old infant, passengers on both vessels who were shaken up or injured, a boat that was taking on water, and coordinating with emergency officials. The attorney reiterated claims that the ferry did not display the proper lights, as required by law.
“From the sworn witness statements already in your possession, as well as from the video evidence, there is consistent and credible evidence that no stern light was visible at the time of the incident,” attorney J. Kevin Hayslett wrote in the letter to investigators.
In her statement, Ringel said she was questioned by an officer who “seemed agitated” because she “(couldn’t) remember much.”
Jeff Knight’s boat being impounded by the FWC after the Clearwater Ferry Crash (WFLA)
“He also said to another cop, while getting in the truck, that this is about the second or third time he’s had a run in with ‘this guy,’ assuming he was talking about Jeff,” Ringel wrote.
Knight faced lawsuits in 2019 and 2012 involving his boat and injuries. The 2012 case alleged a man fell off of Knight’s yacht, hit his head and drowned. That case was later dismissed.
Who is Jeff Knight? Legal history of boater FWC says was involved in Clearwater ferry crash
In 2019, Knight’s motorboat struck a pontoon boat, leaving two women badly injured. The case was settled for confidential sum. He was cited for careless operation of a vessel and collision of a vessel, but both charges were dismissed in 2020.
No charges have been filed in connection to Sunday’s crash. Knight stepped down from the management team at Jannus Live on Wednesday.
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