Witnesses and survivors describe deadly collapse at dock in Georgia
Demands for a federal investigation mount as witnesses and survivors of a gangway collapse at a dock in Georgia describe the “catastrophic failure” that killed seven people traveling for a festival celebrating Gullah Geechee history.
Demands for a federal investigation mount as witnesses and survivors of a gangway collapse at a dock in Georgia describe the “catastrophic failure” that killed seven people traveling for a festival celebrating Gullah Geechee history.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, Regina Brinson described being on the dock when she heard a crack. She was with several people who were trying to board the final ferry to Sapelo Island on Saturday.
Brinson said she turned around to see the metal walkway crumple, plummeting her and several other people into the water beneath the ferry dock, including her uncle, Isaiah Thomas, 79.
Brinson held on to the side of the structure as Thomas grabbed her hand and clothes, pulling her head underwater. “I had to take his fingers, one by one, and peel them off of my shirt,” Brinson said while sobbing. “And I pulled him back up to the top, and I saw his face. And I was like, ‘Oh, my God, what did I do? What did I do?’ And he floated by me.”
Katrena Alexander added that she barely avoided being plunged into the water.
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