« Back to Blog

Tragic Fisher Island Ferry Accident Kills 2

Posted on February 19, 2020

Emergency vessels and aircraft search the waters for a vehicle that went overboard the Fisher Island Ferry. Photo courtesy ABC News.

News reports are sharing the details of a tragic ferry accident in Florida that ended in two deaths, after a vehicle plunged off the Fisher Island Ferry with two women inside.

The accident reportedly happened yesterday around 4pm, when a 2019 Mercedes Benz with two female occupants went overboard and sank in the waters between Fisher Island and Miami Beach.

First responders launched a search, which included boats, helicopters and dive crews, and finally found the vehicle late last night, which contained the bodies of both women. Their identities have not been released. The United States Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Police Department are investigating the cause of the accident and how the car fell off the ferry.

Shockingly, this is the second such accident on a ferry in recent months. In October of 2019, a vehicle slipped off of a ferry crossing Kenya's Likoni channel and sank into the Indian Ocean, killing a woman and her daughter.

In a 2018 news report, statistics from the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) cited the main causes of ferry accidents as fire/engine problems (11%), collisions/navigation errors (22%), overcrowding/overloading (29%), weather (50%), and human error (61-85%).

If you or someone you love has been involved in a boating accident and you suspect negligence may be involved, it may help to speak with experienced catastrophic injury attorneys. Contact us today.