Ferry strikes New York City dock, over 50 hurt, 2 critically
Source: Agencies |
January 10, 2013, Thursday
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MORE than 50 people were injured, two critically, when a commuter ferry struck a dock in New York City's financial district during yesterday morning's rush hour, officials said. A corner of the ferry was ripped open, and passengers said people fell on each other, screaming and crying.
One witness said a ferry employee moments before the accident had mentioned the boat's recent trouble with maneuvering.
Passengers aboard the Seastreak Wall Street ferry said scores of people who had been waiting to disembark were hurled to the deck by the impact.
"People were thrown into the air and onto the ground," passenger Elizabeth Banta told CNN. "There were definitely many people on the ground who were not moving."
Another passenger, Ellen Foran, said people "just tumbled on top of each other. I got thrown into everybody else. ... People were hysterical."
Firefighters were still carrying people away on stretchers an hour after the crash.
More than 340 passengers and crew members were aboard the ferry from New Jersey, one of many that carry commuters to the island of Manhattan.
Dee Wertz was on shore waiting for the ferry and saw the impact. She said she had been talking with a ferry employee about how the boat's captains had been complaining lately about its maneuverability.
"He was telling me that none of these guys like this boat," Wertz said. "It was coming in a little wobbly. It hit the right side of the boat on the dock hard, like a bomb."
After the impact, the boat was able to dock normally. Wertz said passengers raced off once the ramp came down.
"I think people just wanted to get the heck off the boat as soon as they could," she said.
People answering the phone at Seastreak's offices in New Jersey referred questions to a lawyer, who did not immediately return phone messages. Seastreak is a privately owned company that also holds the Interlake Steamship Company, Mormac Marine Group, Inc, and Moran Towing Co, the largest tug and barge operator on the East and Gulf Coasts, according to the company's website.
In 2003, 11 people were killed when a Staten Island Ferry crashed into a city pier after its pilot passed out at the wheel. Three people were badly hurt and 40 injured when the same ferry hit the same pier in 2010 due to a mechanical problem.
The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators to the scene.
One witness said a ferry employee moments before the accident had mentioned the boat's recent trouble with maneuvering.
Passengers aboard the Seastreak Wall Street ferry said scores of people who had been waiting to disembark were hurled to the deck by the impact.
"People were thrown into the air and onto the ground," passenger Elizabeth Banta told CNN. "There were definitely many people on the ground who were not moving."
Another passenger, Ellen Foran, said people "just tumbled on top of each other. I got thrown into everybody else. ... People were hysterical."
Firefighters were still carrying people away on stretchers an hour after the crash.
More than 340 passengers and crew members were aboard the ferry from New Jersey, one of many that carry commuters to the island of Manhattan.
Dee Wertz was on shore waiting for the ferry and saw the impact. She said she had been talking with a ferry employee about how the boat's captains had been complaining lately about its maneuverability.
"He was telling me that none of these guys like this boat," Wertz said. "It was coming in a little wobbly. It hit the right side of the boat on the dock hard, like a bomb."
After the impact, the boat was able to dock normally. Wertz said passengers raced off once the ramp came down.
"I think people just wanted to get the heck off the boat as soon as they could," she said.
People answering the phone at Seastreak's offices in New Jersey referred questions to a lawyer, who did not immediately return phone messages. Seastreak is a privately owned company that also holds the Interlake Steamship Company, Mormac Marine Group, Inc, and Moran Towing Co, the largest tug and barge operator on the East and Gulf Coasts, according to the company's website.
In 2003, 11 people were killed when a Staten Island Ferry crashed into a city pier after its pilot passed out at the wheel. Three people were badly hurt and 40 injured when the same ferry hit the same pier in 2010 due to a mechanical problem.
The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched investigators to the scene.
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