16-Year-Old Teen Killed in Florida Pinellas County Boat Crash

A teen girl was killed in a boating crash in Pinellas County overnight.

WTSP.com reports that 16-year-old Rachel Herring was one of six passengers riding in a boat piloted by a 16-year-old male at about 12:30 a.m. in Indian Shores. The group was leaving a house party, traveling north on the waterway when the boat struck a channel marker. Authorities believe that the 24-foot boat was probably traveling too fast when the crash occurred.

The seven teens in the boat were all ejected by the crash. None was wearing a life jacket. Sometime after the crash, authorities found Herring’s body floating in the water. Authorities also report that one other teen was injured in the crash and received treatment at a local hospital.

Authorities are charging the boat’s driver with negligent homicide, says Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. Though authorities suspect that there may have been alcohol and/or drug use among the teens, authorities reportedly do not suspect that the boat’s pilot was under the influence at the time of the crash.

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