16-Year-Old Girl Dies In Late-Night Boating Accident After Party

INDIAN SHORES, FL — Pinellas County Sheriff's detectives are investigating a fatal boat crash in Indian Shores involving seven teens that left a 16-year-0ld girl dead.

The crash occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Sunday at marker 28 in the Intercoastal Waterway in Indian Shores. This is near the intersection of Whitehurst Avenue and Gulf Boulevard.

Deputies responded and learned seven teens were on board at the time and one teen, Rachel Herring, was missing. Deputies on the scene were able to use a phone app to locate Herring about a half mile south of the crash site, floating in the water. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives learned that a 16-year-old and five other teens boarded the boat at the 16-year-old's home in Largo on Saturday around 7:30 p.m.

The 2014 Yellow Fin center console boat stopped at a boat ramp to pick up a friend who brought alcohol onto the boat and continued to a party at a home in the Treasure Island area. Witnesses say the teens arrived at the party at about 9 p.m.

Investigators discovered there were approximately 25 to 40 teens at the party who were consuming alcohol or smoking marijuana. In the upstairs of the home was another party attended by adults.

Detectives said a group of seven teens left the Treasure Island home around 12:15 a.m., got into the Yellow fin boat and began traveling north on the Intercoastal Waterway. The 16-year-old boat operator was traveling at a high rate of speed, exceeding the no-wake zone speed limits for that area. The boat struck a metal mile marker causing all seven passengers to be ejected from the boat into the water.

At this time, there is no indication that the teen boat operator was under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. Investigators conducted field sobriety tests and the teen did not show indicators of impairment. He was arrested and taken to the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center charged with vessel homicide.

Those on board the boat were not wearing life jackets at the time of the crash.

The medical examiner is still determining the cause of Rachel Herring's death. Speed does appear to be a factor in this case.