The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) has approved a $300,000 settlement covering claims from 37 passengers involved in the April 2025 collision between the Clearwater Ferry and a private recreational vessel that killed one person and injured several others.
The PSTA Board of Directors approved the agreement July 22. The $300,000 will be divided among passengers who submitted injury claims following the April 27, 2025, collision in Clearwater Harbor. How the money will be allocated has not been disclosed.
The agreement ends PSTA's legal liability related to the passenger claims but does not resolve separate civil cases involving the ferry operator, its captain, insurer or Jeffry Knight, who authorities allege was operating the private vessel that struck the ferry.
The ferry was carrying 45 passengers from Clearwater Beach to Coachman Park following the final evening of the Sugar Sand Festival when it collided with Knight's vessel near the Memorial Causeway. Jose Castro, 41, was killed, and 10 others were reported injured.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) led the investigation, with the Coast Guard and local agencies also responding.
Knight was arrested in July 2025 and faces 24 charges, including eight felony counts of leaving the scene of a boating accident involving death or serious bodily injury and 16 counts involving alleged navigation rule violations.
Knight has pleaded not guilty and denied negligence or wrongdoing. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 1, 2027.
Clearwater Ferry captain Dennis Kimerer was also cited after investigators determined the ferry's stern light was not operating at the time of the collision. The charge was reduced to a noncriminal infraction in May. Kimerer pleaded guilty and was fined $500.
Separate from the incident, PSTA is moving forward with plans for a new ferry service connecting downtown Tampa and downtown St. Petersburg.
In June, the transit authority announced the purchase of two vessels, the Bay Breeze and San Juan Clipper, for the Tampa Bay Ferry service. Tampa and Pinellas County officials approved $4.8 million in April to purchase and renovate the two vessels.
Both vessels have completed sea trials and surveys and are expected to arrive in the Tampa Bay area by late summer, with service potentially beginning in the fall.
The Bay Breeze can carry 250 passengers, while the San Juan Clipper has capacity for approximately 150 passengers.
