LITTLE TORCH KEY, Fla. – Medics airlifted three people to Miami-area hospitals after an overnight boat crash in the Lower Florida Keys Monday.
Officials said a 35-foot center console boat, operated at a “high rate of speed,” hit the South Pine Channel Bridge off Little Torch Key at around 2 a.m. Local 10 News learned the group set sail at around 9 p.m. Sunday.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, eight people were aboard: six adults and two children.
Monroe County Fire Rescue crews responded and used ladders from an old bridge to get down to the sinking boat to rescue those on board before it sank.
“They had to move swiftly,” MCFR Deputy Chief R.L. Colina said. “The boat was sinking from the minute they got there.”
Medics airlifted two victims to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and one to Jackson South Medical Center.
Four others were taken to Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West.
The boat remained in the water as of around 9:30 Monday morning.
Officials with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said the boat operator is a Keys resident.
The boat’s outboard motors identify the vessel as belonging to charter company Nauti Tails Fishing Charters, which is based on Big Pine Key.
A woman who answered the phone at the business confirmed her husband was involved but said she wasn’t sure if the crash happened during a chartered trip or a family trip.
While firefighters and MCSO deputies brought several victims to the top of the bridge using ladders, Tow Boat U.S. assisted with the more seriously-injured victims.
“It was a mess, a lot of hurt people,” said Kevin Freestone, a captain with the company.
Freestone said he frequently assists in rescue operations on the water. In this situation, firefighters moved the three trauma victims onto his vessel before he took it to a marina, where they could be airlifted.
FWC officials are investigating the crash and are looking into whether speed or alcohol were factors.