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At Least 10 Dead in NYC Ferry Crash

Thursday, November 16, 2003



NEW YORK — Ten people were confirmed dead and 42 injured after a wind-tossed Staten Island ferry (search) crashed into wooden pilings as it was docking.

Commuters were trapped in piles of debris aboard the 22-year-old ferry, and victims screamed and dove for cover as metal crunched into wood just before the start the evening rush hour on Wednesday, tearing girders, splintering planks and ripping a huge hole in the right side of the three-level, bright-orange vessel, which has a capacity of 6,000 passengers.

"Everyone just jumped for their lives," rider Bob Carroll told TV station NY1. "It was like an absolute horror. ... The whole side of the boat looked like an opener on a can."

The ferry pilot responsible for docking the vehicle fled after the Wednesday afternoon crash to his Staten Island home where he slit his wrists and shot himself with a pellet gun, a police official said on condition of anonymity. The pilot was rushed to the same hospital as many of the victims and underwent surgery.

After interviewing another crew member, authorities began investigating whether the pilot was asleep at the wheel as the boat approached land, a law enforcement source told the Associated Press.

Ferry passenger Frank Corchado, 29, said it felt as if the ferry accelerated as it approached land, waking him as he napped on the trip home to Staten Island. He ran away from the front of the boat to safety, but saw others who weren't as lucky -- six people dead, including one who had been decapitated.

"There was a lady without legs, right in the middle of the boat," Corchado said. "She was screaming. You ever see anything like that?"

A bystander also said the vessel seemed to be moving at a dangerous clip.

"The ferry was coming too fast," said witness William Gonzalez, who lives in a nearby apartment complex. "They had no control to stop the boat."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg (search) said in a news conference Wednesday that 10 people had been confirmed dead and 42 wounded, making it New York's worst mass-transit accident in nearly a century. City officials had earlier reported 14 people killed, but later amended the toll due to some bodies being counted twice.

"It's a terrible tragedy, people who were on the way home, all of a sudden, taken from us," Bloomberg said at a dockside news conference.

He said the ferry's crew will be interviewed and tested for drugs and alcohol.

Firefighters picked their way through the debris aboard the ship, the Andrew J. Barberi (search), looking for victims, and Coast Guard divers searched the water. At least one body was recovered from the water.

"People who were sitting there as the ferry docked were hit by the pilings that came through the side of the boat," the mayor said. The pilings hit on the ferry's main deck, crashing into the windows that ordinarily afford a postcard view of the Statue of Liberty (search).

At Staten Island University Hospital, two people with amputations were among the victims, said spokeswoman Arleen Ryback. Others were suffering from back and spinal injuries, chest pains and hypothermia.

The ferry pilot, identified as Richard Smith, was undergoing surgery at the same hospital, said Dr. Pietro Carpenito. The police source said he was taken to the hospital after someone at his home called 911 about an hour after the accident. He bolted the scene so quickly that he left behind his keys, and was forced to break into his home, the law enforcement source said.

Police said they had obtained a sample of the pilot's blood for testing, and that he was being represented by an attorney. Telephone messages left at his home were not returned.

Three people were brought to St. Vincent's Hospital with massive trauma, including one amputee. Others there were also suffering from hypothermia, said spokesman Michael Fagan. The water temperature was about 62 degrees.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The accident occurred on a windswept day, with gusts in the mid-40 mph range, and early reports blamed the crash on the resulting choppy waters.

"We are not going to speculate on how it happened," Bloomberg said. "It's too early to tell."

The National Transportation Safety Board (search) convened an accident investigation team, which will look at the weather, among other possible factors.

"There's no reason to believe this was anything other than a tragic accident," the mayor cautioned.

He urged survivors of the crash and those who normally ride the ferry but weren't on the doomed vessel to contact their family members immediately to assure them they were okay.

Those wanting to know the status of loved ones aboard the ferry were advised to call 311, which would connect them to a family assistance center, Bloomberg said.

The ferry, which has three levels, has a capacity of 6,000, but it was unclear how many people were aboard at the time of the accident. The mayor said the ferry often carries up to 1,500 passengers at the time of day the accident occurred.

The victims were taken to Staten Island University Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospital following the accident. Firefighters aboard the damaged ferry sifted through the rubble looking for victims, finding more than 20, some of them critically injured, said another FDNY spokesman, David Billig.

Justin Girard, a witness to the accident, told NY1 that he saw smoke and heard screams after the ferry crashed at the St. George Terminal. The front end of the ferry suffered extensive damage to the right side of its hull.

A debris field of about 400 yards surrounded the damaged boat, said Coast Guard Chief Dave French.

The accident suspended all Staten Island ferry services and temporarily closed down traffic on the lower level of the nearby Verrazano Bridge (search). Officials said ferry service would resume for the Thursday morning rush.

The mayor, who was attending the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game with the American League pennant on the line, left Yankee Stadium to head to the scene. He boarded the ferry to assess the damage himself.

Steamboat ferries began operating between Manhattan and Staten Island in 1817. A railroad company ran the ferry from 1884 until 1905, when it was taken over by the city. It is now run by the city Transportation Department. Several accidents have occurred aboard Staten Island ferries over the years.

A boiler explosion on a ferry killed 104 passengers as it was preparing to leave Manhattan for Staten Island in 1871.

In 1997, a car plunged off the ferry as it was docking in Staten Island, causing minor injuries to the driver and a deckhand who was knocked overboard by the car.

In the summer of 1986, a man wielding a sword attacked riders on a ferry, killing two and injuring nine others before he was subdued by a retired police officer.

New York's worst subway accident occurred in 1918, when a train derailed in Brooklyn, killing 92 people.

A New York City subway crash in 1991 killed five people and injured more than 140. Federal investigators blamed the motorman's heavy drinking and lack of sleep.


         

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