By Hanna Park and Holly Yan

(CNN) — A ferry ushering families from a popular sand sculpting competition in Florida was struck by a recreational boat Sunday evening in an apparent hit-and-run, killing one ferry passenger and injuring several others, police and witnesses said.

The ferry was carrying people to and from the Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater, CNN affiliate WFTS reported.

Around 8:40 p.m. ET, authorities were notified a 37-foot boat carrying about six people struck the 40-foot ferry carrying about 45 people near the Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge, according to Clearwater police and Florida Fish and Wildlife.

The recreational boat “overrode nearly three-quarters of the ferry,” said Clearwater Police Department Chief Eric Gandy during a Monday news conference.

Brenda Alvarez, who is about eight months pregnant, was on the ferry with her husband and two young children when a crew member started yelling, “Hey, hey, hey!” the family told CNN affiliate WFTS.

Alvarez’s husband turned around to see a large boat “just come through” the ferry, he said.

The other boat “shattered the whole back of” the ferry and “left a huge dent,” Brenda Alvarez told WFTS. “We can’t understand how fast they were going.”

Officers arrived to find a “chaotic scene,” Clearwater police spokesperson Rob Shaw told CNN affiliate Bay News 9. Nearby “good Samaritans” used their own boats to help evacuate passengers.

The ferry came to rest on a sandbar, so some on board were able to walk to shore. But “firefighters had to go into the water and help some people,” Shaw said.

Six people were declared “trauma alerts,” including two who were “seriously injured” and airlifted from the scene by helicopter, Shaw said. One of the injured later died.

The man who died was identified as Jose Castro, 41, of Palm Harbor, just a few miles north of Clearwater, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Hailee Seely.

The incident was declared “a mass casualty incident by the fire department due to the number of injuries,” Clearwater police said.

Early Monday morning, the US Coast Guard said one person had died and “12 people were transported to a local hospital.”

Everyone who was injured in the crash was on the ferry, police said. “It is not believed that there is anyone reported missing from the ferry,” Shaw told CNN.

Kristin Vincelli, who was also leaving the festival, shared video with CNN showing emergency vehicles rushing toward the waterfront.

The recreational boat did not stay at the crash scene but it is unclear if the collision is being investigated as a hit-and-run, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Captain Matthew Dallarosa.

“There is evidence that shows that the (recreational boat) did remain there for a period of time and then ultimately ended up at the Belleair Boat Ramp,” Dallarosa said Monday.

Those injured in the collision were triaged at a separate boat ramp nearby, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife.

Officials have not released the name of the person who died or the names of the people injured.

So far, authorities have released few details about the boat that hit the ferry.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be leading the investigation into the crash, Clearwater police said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
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