Nine Survive Early Morning Boat Crash

The nine passengers on board 21-foot pleasure craft were rescued early Sunday after their boat struck a jetty in Clearwater Pass.

Three passengers received non-life threatening injuries, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. 

The passengers were ejected into the water when their vessel crashed into the Clearwater Pass jetty at "high rate of speed," according to a news release from the United States Coast Guard.

A passenger aboard another vessel, the Absolute Escape, alerted the Coast Guard at around 3 a.m.

When the Coast Guard arrived, the crew found all nine passengers sitting on the jetty. Rescuers took the passengers to Station Sand Key, and then, the three with injuries were taken on to Morton Plant Hospital and Largo Medical Center, according to the Coast Guard.

The person reportedly operating the boat passed a field sobriety test, and was cited for failing to maintain proper lookout, according to Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission investigators.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission is continuing its investigation.