CLEARWATER, Fla. ( WFLA ) — An attorney for the boat operator who crashed into a Florida ferry on Sunday has released new details from his client’s side of the events.
In a Tuesday letter addressed to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Attorney J. Kevin Hayslett asserted that his client, Jeffry Knight, was in compliance with Florida law during the chaos that killed a man and seriously injured 10 other people.
‘It was like a flash’: Passenger on Clearwater ferry recounts horrific crash
Authorities initially said that a boat struck the Clearwater Ferry shortly before 9 p.m. on Sunday near the Memorial Causeway Bridge and fled the scene . The FWC later said evidence showed Knight remained on the scene but left before police arrived.
Hayslett’s letter agreed, explaining that Knight did not leave the scene immediately after the crash with the Clearwater Ferry as authorities initially alleged . At first, Knight tried to help the victims, directing a passenger on his boat to call 911 to get help…