Clearwater Ferry operator involved in deadly 2025 crash accepts plea deal, charges reduced
May 27, 2026
The Clearwater Ferry captain, who was operating the boat at the time of the deadly crash in April 2025, accepted a plea deal and will have his charge reduced.Dennis Kimerer pleaded guilty on May 27 to misdemeanor charges stemmin
g from a reported violation of a navigational rule that resulted in an accident, but it did not constitute reckless operation of a vessel. His charge will be reduced to a civil infraction. Kimerer has to pay a $500 fine.Earlier this year, Jeff Knight had a pretrial hearing for his more notable role in the crash, where he faces eight felony counts of leaving the scene of a boating crash that killed one person and injured multiple people.
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