By David Goodhue
Miami Herald
MONROE COUNTY, Fla. — Monroe County paramedics flew three people, including a child, to mainland hospitals after the fast-moving boat they were on crashed into a bridge in the Florida Keys early Monday morning, according to the fire department.
Four other people on the boat were taken to local hospitals, said Kristen Livengood , spokeswoman for Monroe County Fire Rescue.
The Contender struck the South Pine Channel Bridge, which connects Middle Torch Key with Ramrod Key in the Lower Keys, at a high rate of speed around 2 a.m., Livengood told the Miami Herald.
Firefighters were the first to respond and had to use ladders on the old bridge to get down to the people and rescue them before the boat sank, Livengood said.
Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as well as a boat from Sea Tow — a boat-towing business — also responded to the crash, said Livengood.
Monday’s crash comes after a man was struck and killed while spearfishing in the waters off the Lower Keys Friday afternoon, and a person was badly injured in a personal watercraft crash off Key West Saturday.
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