CLEARWATER, Fla. >> A boat crashed into a ferry transporting 45 people on the final day of a sand-sculpting festival in Florida, killing one person and injuring at least 12 others, officials said.

The crash late Sunday in calm waters off Clearwater on the western Florida coast set off an emergency response due to the high number of possible casualties.

“We were just enjoying the ride and all of a sudden we heard the first mate yelling. ‘hey hey hey,’” Marco Vacheco, who was on the ferry with Brenda Alvarez and their two young children, told WFTS. “And we looked back behind us and this big yacht just came through the boat.”

The boat then fled the scene, authorities said.

— The Associated Press