CLEARWATER, Fla. — The criminal case against Jeffrey Knight returned to court Friday as prosecutors sought to introduce evidence from a previous boating accident ahead of his upcoming trial in connection with the deadly Clearwater ferry crash.
Knight excused himself from the courtroom for Friday's hearing.
Watch report from Maya Sargent
Friday's proceeding was a Williams Rule hearing, which lets a judge decide whether evidence of prior acts can be used in a criminal trial. Prosecutors are asking the court to let jurors hear evidence from a 2019 boating collision involving Knight in the 2025 case.
Knight faces multiple charges stemming from the 2025 crash that killed one person after a boat collided with a Clearwater ferry.
Prosecutors say the 2019 and 2025 incidents share "eerie similarities."
"In the 2019 case, he was cited for careless operation of a vessel. In the 2025, he was cited for not going at a safe speed," said Anthony Bradlow, Assistant State Attorney, for the Office of the State Attorney, Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County, Florida.
To support their argument, the State called four witnesses Friday, including the operator of the boat involved in the 2019 collision with Knight
That witness, Erwin Rusli, testified about the severe injuries his wife suffered in the crash.
"She wasn't breathing, her pulse was weak," said Rusli. "Traumatic brain injury, rib fracture, broken leg, broken foot."
Defense attorneys challenged the state's claims during cross-examination, questioning allegations that Knight failed to maintain a proper lookout, was traveling at an unsafe speed, and bore sole responsibility for avoiding the collision.
The Williams Rule hearing was not completed Friday. The Judge is expected to schedule another hearing date, and prosecutors are anticipated to call additional witnesses.
Knight's trial is currently scheduled for February.
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