CNN
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A ferry connecting an island off the coast of Georgia resumed operations Monday, while an investigation continues into what caused a deadly dock collapse that killed seven people.
The victims were among dozens of people who traveled to Chapalo Island last weekend to celebrate the Gullah-Keechi, a community of descendants of Africans enslaved on coastal plantations in the south. Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials said at least 20 people drowned in the Dublin River after a group collapsed on the visitor boat dock as some prepared to board a ferry back to the mainland.
Georgia officials said Monday that the damaged gangway had been removed and taken to a “secure facility” as part of the investigation. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said in a statement that there were “no areas of concern” when the gangway was last inspected in December.
“Our hearts continue to go out to the victims, their families and everyone involved in Saturday’s tragic incident on Sapbello Island,” said the department’s Commissioner Walter Robben. “We will allow the investigators to take their time and conduct a thorough investigation.”
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the families of the three victims, said the deaths and injuries had devastated “the families and the entire community.”
“We will not rest until the truth behind this catastrophic failure is revealed and those responsible are held accountable,” Crump said in a statement. “This should never have happened, and it is important to prevent future tragedies by addressing the negligence that led to this horrific event.”
‘He loved everyone’: Victims remember
McIntosh County Coroner Melvin Amerson told CNN that the dead were all over the age of 70 and were from Jacksonville, Florida, Atlanta and Darien, Georgia.
The investigating officer identified them as Jacqueline Cruz Carter, 75; Cynthia Gibbs, 74; William Johnson Jr., 73; Carlotta McIntosh, 93; Isaiah Thomas, 79; Queen Welch, 76; and Charles L. Houston, 77.
Family members told CNN that Welch had invited a group of relatives, including her cousin’s husband, Johnson Jr., to visit the island for the Gullah-Keechi celebration.
“He was the one who tried to keep everybody in the loop and keep in touch with everybody,” Johnson’s son William Johnson Sr. said. “A very gentle, caring person who does her best for you.”
Johnson Jr.’s wife, Zelda, also fell into the water, recalling using a black bag as a flotation device to reach land and waiting for her loved ones to join her.
“I waited and prayed and sat there hoping they would go up, but it didn’t,” said Zelda Johnson. She was married for 35 years to retired U.S. Air Force Master Sgt.
Moments before the gangway collapsed, Thomas and a daughter-in-law saw a woman with a walker and tried to help her onto the boat, her son told CNN.
“He was a genuine, quiet, humble man,” his son Jeff Thomas told CNN. “He would never hurt a fly. He loved everyone.”
As they submerged, Thomas’ daughter-in-law was unable to float him, but he eventually swam to a rock, where he died, Jeff Thomas said. He was hospitalized with water in his lungs, he added.
A Wellesley College student told CNN she held the hand of an 80-year-old woman who fell into the water after the gangway collapsed.
“She held my hand for 15 minutes until we got her a life jacket and someone else could get her out of the water,” Catherine Snead said.
“It was a deafening crack. It was so incredibly loud,” Snead recalled, adding that when the gangway collapsed, it “looked like a V, and people started sliding down, they were trying to grab the side.”
The 80-year-old woman remains hospitalized and her family is grateful for Snead’s actions, the woman’s niece Vanessa Jordan told CNN.
Cynthia Gibbs, 74, a widow and devout volunteer at Impact Church in Jacksonville, Florida, was one of the seven victims of the boat collapse. She was described by church deacon Randall Jordan as a “super special lady” who loved butterflies and traveling.
Gibbs went to Sapelo Island for a weekend trip with a “small” group of friends, Jordan said, adding that he was “stunned by the suddenness” of her death and that the church would “miss her terribly.”
“We find peace in knowing that she is now in the presence of the Lord,” Impact Church wrote in a post. Instagram. “We stand by our promise to see her again.”
The victim’s 93-year-old granddaughter described her as funny, cool and “really well-loved”.
Febary Hassan, 52, told CNN on Monday that she believes her grandmother was on a group trip to the island with other elderly people.
“She was very much alive, that’s why she was there,” Hassan said.
Hassan said he was angry about his grandmother’s “horrific” and unexpected death and looked forward to sharing many more years with her.
“She had a lot of life,” Hassan said.
Hundreds visit the isolated island
Residents of Sabelo Island — only accessible by ferry or ferry about 7 miles off the coast of Georgia — have expressed concerns in the past about zoning laws and access to emergency and other government services.
In a 2015 federal civil rights lawsuit, residents claimed they were paying high property taxes but experiencing a lack of government services.Adequate water, emergency medical, fire, road maintenance, garbage and ferry services accessible to members of the community. They are He settled the case 2020 with district and state officials 2022.
Roger Lotson, a member of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners, noted that he has not received complaints about the docks, but that they would have been directed to the state, which operates the boats.
Lotson described the island as isolated, with about 40-50 residents, some of whom live part-time.
“It’s a very rural, quiet area, and even though modernization is starting to creep up on the island, that’s by design,” Ladson said. “Very few roads are paved.”
But tourism and the Gullah-Keechi community are a big part of what keeps the island thriving.
“Chapello Island is a jewel within Georgia,” he said. The Gullah-Keechee community “can still trace their heritage, their lineage, all the way back to those who were enslaved before they were sold on the island.”
On Saturday, the event, called Culture Day, brought about 2,000 visitors, but this year brought about 800 visitors, Lotson said.
The event honors Keechee traditions and features “entertainers, vendors and special guests, including descendants of the island.” According to To the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society.
“My hope is that when people think of Sabelo, they think of the Gullah-Keechee community and not this incident,” Ladson said. “It’s a reminder that we should always think about what other people do after the cameras are lost.”
CNN’s Devon Sayers, Kia Fatahi and Zenebou Sylla contributed to this story.
