Sapelo Island ferry resumes operations after deadly boat dock gangway collapse

By Nicole Chavez, Michelle Watson and Sarah Dewberry

(CNN) — A ferry connecting an island off the coast of Georgia resumed operations Monday while the investigation to see what might have caused a deadly dock collapse that killed seven people continues.

The victims were among the dozens of people who traveled to Sapelo Island last weekend to celebrate the Gullah-Geechee, a community of descendants of Africans who were enslaved on coastal plantations in the South. As some were ready to board a ferry returning to the mainland, a gangway collapsed on the visitor ferry dock and at least 20 people were plunged into the Duplin River, Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials said.

Georgia officials said Monday the damaged gangway was removed and taken to a “secured facility” as part of the investigation. There were “no areas of concern” when the gangway was last inspected in December, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said in a statement.

“Our hearts continue to go out to the victims, their families, and all of those involved in Saturday’s tragic occurrence on Sapelo Island,” said Walter Rabon, the department’s commissioner. “We will allow the investigators to take their time and conduct a thorough investigation.”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the families of three victims, said the deaths and injuries have devastated “families and the entire community.”

“We will not rest until we uncover the truth behind this catastrophic failure and hold those responsible accountable,” Crump said in a statement. “This should never have happened, and it is crucial that we prevent future tragedies by addressing the negligence that led to this horrific event.”

‘He loved everybody’: Victims remembered

All the victims who died were older than 70 with ties to Jacksonville, Florida, Atlanta and Darien, Georgia, McIntosh County Coroner Melvin Amerson told CNN.

The coroner identified them as Jacqueline Crews Carter, 75; Cynthia Gibbs, 74; William Johnson Jr., 73; Carlotta McIntosh, 93; Isaiah Thomas, 79; Queen Welch, 76; and Charles L. Houston, 77.

Welch had invited a group of relatives to visit the island for the Gullah-Geechee celebration, including her cousin’s husband, Johnson Jr., family members told CNN.

“She was the one that tried to keep everybody in the loop, keep in touch with everybody,” said Welch’s cousin and Johnson Jr.’s wife, Zelda Johnson. “Just a very gentle, caring person, and do what she could for you.”

Zelda Johnson, who also fell into the water, recalled using a black bag as a flotation device to reach land and waiting for her loved ones to join her.

“I sat down waiting, praying, and just hoping they would walk up, but it didn’t happen that way,” said Zelda Johnson. She had been married to the retired US Air Force master sergeant for 35 years.

Moments before the gangway collapsed, Thomas and a niece spotted a woman with a walker and tried to help her get on the boat, his son told CNN.

“He was a real, laid back, humble guy,” his son, Jeff Thomas, told CNN. “He just wouldn’t hurt a fly. He loved everybody.”

As they were plunged onto the water, Thomas’ niece was unable to keep him afloat but she eventually swam to a rock, where she passed out, Jeff Thomas said. She was hospitalized with water in her lungs, he added.

A Wellesley College student told CNN she grabbed the hand of an 80-year-old woman, Bertha McKnight, who fell into the water after the gangway collapsed.

“She held onto my hand for maybe 15 minutes until we could get a life jacket on her and someone else could help her out of the water,” said Catherine Sneed.

“It was a deafening crack. It was so incredibly loud,” Sneed recalled hearing when the gangway collapsed, which looked “like a V, and people started sliding down, and they were trying to hold on to the side.”

McKnight’s niece Vanessa Jordan told CNN she checked in on her aunt on Monday.

“I checked on her Monday and she is much better than she was in the day of the incident, thank God,” Jordan said.

Cynthia Gibbs, 74, a widow and devout volunteer at Impact Church in Jacksonville, Florida, was also among the seven victims who died from the ferry collapse. She was described by the church’s Deacon Randall Jordan as a “super special lady” who loved butterflies and traveling.

Gibbs visited Sapelo Island for a weekend trip with a “small” group of friends, Jordan said, adding that he was “stunned at the sudden circumstance” of her death and that the church will “greatly miss her.”

“We find peace in knowing she is now in the presence of the Lord,” Impact Church wrote in a post on Instagram. “We hold firm to the promise that we will see her again.”

The granddaughter of 93-year-old victim McIntosh described her as funky, cool, and “really, really loved.”

Febury Hassan, 52, told CNN on Monday she believes her grandmother was on a planned group trip to the island with other seniors when the gangway collapsed.

“She was so full of life, that’s why she was there,” Hassan said.

Hassan said she is angry at her grandmother’s “horrific” and unexpected death and was looking forward to sharing more years with her.

“She had a lot of life,” Hassan said.

Hundreds visit isolated island

Residents in Sapelo Island – a barrier island about 7 miles off the coast of Georgia accessible only by boat or ferry – have expressed concerns over zoning laws and access to emergency and other government services in the past.

In a 2015 federal civil rights lawsuit, residents claimed they were paying high property taxes but experienced a lack of government services, including “adequate water, emergency medical, fire, road maintenance, trash, and accessible ferry services to members of the community.” They settled the lawsuit with county and state officials in 2020 and 2022.

Roger Lotson, a member of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners, said he had not received complaints about the dock but noted those would have been directed to the state, which operates the ferry.

Lotson described the island as isolated, with about 40-50 residents, some of whom live there part-time.

“It’s a very rural, quiet area, and it’s by design that way, although modernization is beginning to creep onto the island,” Lotson said. “Very few of the roads are paved.”

But tourism and the Gullah-Geechee community are a huge part of what keeps the island thriving.

“Sapelo Island itself is a jewel within Georgia,” he said. The Gullah-Geechee community can “still can trace their heritage, their lineage, all the way back to those that were enslaved on the island when it was before it was sold.”

The event on Saturday, called Cultural Day, used to bring out about 2,000 visitors but this year brought around 800, Lotson said.

The event honors Geechee traditions and has “entertainers, vendors, and special guests, including Island descendants” according to the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society.

“It is my hope, that when people think of Sapelo, they think of the Gullah-Geechee community, and not think of this incident,” Lotson said. “It’s a reminder that we gotta always be thinking of what others are going through after the cameras have went away.”

CNN’s Devon Sayers, Kia Fatahi, and Zenebou Sylla contributed to this story.

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