Survivors of fatal Georgia dock collapse turn to state for funeral and counseling assistance

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Survivors of a fatal walkway collapse at a state-owned ferry dock on the island of Georgia said Thursday that the government should help them pay for the funerals of the seven people who died, as well as medical bills and mental health counseling for those who survived.

Lawmakers on the Georgia Senate Urban Affairs Committee questioned four people who were in a port on Sapelo Island on Oct. 19 when a metal gangplank broke in the middle, sending dozens of people falling into the water.

Among them was Yvonne Brockington of Jacksonville, Florida, who arranged for more than 50 members of her senior club to visit the island during an annual cultural festival organized by the tiny Gullah-Geechee community of descendants of black slaves.

Brockington said she and others were waiting to board the afternoon ferry from the island when she suddenly felt like she was in a falling elevator. When she suddenly stopped, she felt both her legs break. While passersby used a rope to pull Brockington to safety, four members of her club died.

“I don’t know if this psychological effect will ever go away, but we definitely need help,” Brockington told lawmakers during a video conference from her hospital bed. “It shouldn’t have happened. The state of Georgia owes us more than resources. He owes us an apology and must ensure this never happens again.”

Other survivors told the Atlanta meeting that the traumatic day still haunts them.

Darrel Jenkins, who pulled two people from the water but never found out whether they lived or died, said he still has nightmares and wonders: “What about the people who might not have survived? Could I have done more?”

Regina Brinson said her 79-year-old uncle Isaiah Thomas drowned after she had to separate his fingers from his shirt to avoid being dragged underwater.

“We need mental health support, financial support and resources to ensure survivors and their families have what they need to begin recovery,” Brinson said.

The Sapelo Island dock is operated by the state Department of Natural Resources, which manages daily ferry service to and from the mainland.

The agency says about 700 people attended Culture Day on Oct. 19, a celebration of the small community of Hogg Hummock founded by emancipated slaves after the Civil War. Hogg Hummock is one of the few Gullah-Geechee communities remaining in the South, where slaves working on isolated island plantations retained much of their African heritage.

Mawuli Davis, a lawyer for some of those injured in the fall, told lawmakers that state investigators had contacted his clients for interviews, but not from anyone offering help.

Lawmakers agreed the state should do more to help victims. But it’s unclear how much influence they will have: The Senate Urban Affairs Committee is made up of six Democrats, while Republicans control the legislature and the governor’s office.

“The state has a responsibility,” said Sen. Donzella James, an Atlanta Democrat and committee chairwoman. “We are having this hearing to find out what exactly they are responsible for.”

The Department of Natural Resources, with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is investigating the cause of the collapse. But victims’ lawyers have said they don’t trust the state agency to investigate on its own, and last week Attorney General Chris Carr said he had called in an engineering firm to conduct independent, parallel investigation.

No one from the Department of Natural Resources spoke before the committee Thursday.

Last weekend, the department offered free counseling services to residents of Sapelo Island, as well as on the mainland in McIntosh County. The press release said that “ongoing mental health resources will be provided to those in need” and that Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon had contacted the families of those killed and “provided them with a phone number should they need anything.”

The press release also included a hyperlink to an online form that injured people can complete to submit a compensation claim to the state.

A spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources did not immediately respond to an email requesting more information about how it is helping victims.