A personal watercraft and a boat collided off the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Clearwater this afternoon, sending one person to the hospital, authorities said.
The 1:30 p.m., accident happened on the south side of the causeway, in an area known as Jet Ski Beach, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
According to sheriff's deputies, both vessels were headed west along the causeway when the operator of a Yamaha Jet Boat with four passengers aboard turned sharply left and came to a stop in the water.
Deputies say that the personal watercraft operator attempted to stop, but was unable to and crashed into the bow of the boat.
The personal watercraft operator, identified as 29-year-old Robert Fistilla of Kissimmee, was thrown from the vessel, the sheriff's office said. He was taken to shore by Clearwater Fire Rescue. He suffered no visible injuries but was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa as a precaution, the sheriff's office said.
The operator of the Yamaha jet boat, Richard Amburn, 45, of Tampa, was not injured. Nor were the four other passengers aboard the boat.
Fistilla suffered a bruise to the stomach, said Rey DeJesus, his brother-in-law. DeJesus said from the scene that the boat was traveling at a high speed before the accident happened.
"The boat was coming too fast," DeJesus said. "And when the boat turned around, he hit him."
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