Boating

It goes into effect on July 1. State law enforcement won't be able to solely use safety inspections to justify stopping and boarding boats.

The ferry service will operate Thursday through Sunday after a boat crashed into it, killing one person and injuring several others.

A husband and wife who were passengers with their two young children say "the scars we are left with may never go away."

The attorney for Clearwater boat owner, Jeffry Knight, sent a letter to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that included what he says are handwritten, notarized statements from several passengers on the boat.

The announcement comes days after the venue's owner struck the Clearwater Ferry on Sunday night.

Said Sandy Todd, the victim's sister: “I know my brother is not coming back, but I want the person who is responsible for this situation to pay for what he did.”

As of Monday night, no charges have been filed in the crash that killed one person and injured several others. Police have released the names of the man who was killed on the ferry, as well as both boat operators.

The Florida House has unanimously approved a new boating safety bill. The measure aims to enhance safety on the water by strengthening penalties for boating accidents and reckless operation.

Both proposals are named after Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old killed in 2022 when a 29-foot boat she and 13 others were on hit a channel marker near Boca Chita Key.

A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater found the boaters in the Gulf atop the boat's hull, and a crew with the Coast Guard in Fort Myers Beach rescued the trio.

The governor said he was announcing a “boater freedom initiative” that would change laws permitting inspections and searches under the justification of safety checks.

The coastal inlet was closed off in the 1980s, when Sarasota County agreed to pile up sand to protect two vulnerable beachfront homes. But hurricanes blew open the waterway this year.