‘Larger than life’ teen killed, ten injured in Key West boat crash

Minor injuries were also reported following the boat’s collision with a channel marker

One person has died and ten people were injured in a boat crash near Key West in Florida.

Three passengers were critically injured when the boat capsized after hitting a channel marker near Boca Chita Key in Miami-Dade County, authorities say.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a news release that 14 people were aboard the boat when it capsized just before 7pm on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Fire officials said that seven passengers sustained minor injuries.

The Archdiocese of Miami told CBS4 that 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez has died of her injuries. She was a student at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy.

More than 10 fire and rescue units responded to the scene as well as Miami-Dade Police marine patrol units, the US Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the AP noted.

Injured people were pulled out of the water before the other passengers by Miami-Dade fire and police units, Florida Keys News reported. The same report said three children were among those on the boat.

Authorities added that the critically injured were airlifted to a hospital in Miami from nearby Elliott Key Island.

The outlet also shared an email from Sister Carmen T. Fernández, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy president, which was penned to students and parents Monday about Lucy Fernandez’s death.

“She was a young woman of faith, well liked by her teachers and peers, empathetic, faithful and hungry for God,” Fernández, who has no relation to the deceased, wrote. “And though her sudden passing is heartbreaking and has come as a shock to us all, I have absolutely no doubt that Lucy was ready to meet our Lord and enter his Kingdom.”

Boca Chica is an island in the northern Florida Keys within Biscayne National Park offshore of Miami-Dade County. 

According to CBS News, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Captain Juan Garrandes said that “police arrived first and pulled people out of the water – some of them were critical. They were taken to Elliot Key Island where air rescue landed and transported critical patients”.

“Upon our arrival, we joined in with the police department and we treated the rest of the people who were in the water around the boats. We brought them to the island, evaluated them and transported some of them to the hospital,” he added.

The Archdiocese of Miami said in a statement that “the boating accident that occurred yesterday involving students from Our Lady of Lourdes and others is a tragedy. At this moment, and [in] the days to come, please keep each family affected in your prayers, and may all know of the presence of God, especially during this journey”.