Around 700 people were visiting Georgia’s Sapelo Island for an annual celebration for the Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants this past weekend. As they stood on the dock waiting for the island’s ferry to take them back to the mainland, the gateway collapsed, sending at least 20 people into the water, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Of the dozens of victims, seven people died from the Saturday (Oct. 19) tragedy, including a DNR chaplain— all of whom were elders ages 73 to 93 years old, reports WJXT. Now, leaders from the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) are demanding answers to the clear infrastructural failure.
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“There are some questions about the infrastructure, about what could have been prevented and what we can do moving forward to do right by Sapelo Island,” said GLBC Chairman and Georgia Rep. Carl Gilliard said during a press conference. “We are here to not only offer in our prayers and condolences, because prayers without works is dead.”
He continued asking “What are we going to do to maintain that this will never happen again?” He said, “This is an atrocity. And, through the state of Georgia, it’s an audacity.”
Sapelo Island is only accessible by boat which means the island’s only means of transportation to the mainland is through the ferry. The dock was first built in 2021, and December 2023 marked the last inspection in, according to the agency. In the wake of the disaster, a Sapelo Island resident told GPB he tried to warn the state about the shaky infrastructure.
“I said, ‘This dock is going to collapse.’ I sure did,” Grovner said. “I was walking on it, and it was bouncing. So, I stood in the middle of it and bounced up and down for the captain. And he said, ‘Ah, it ain’t going nowhere.’ Yeah. Look what happened.”
After the accident, the gangway was removed and transported to an undisclosed facility to be investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the DNR’s Critical Incident Reconstruction Team. In response, Attorney Francys Johnson said it was “appropriate” for the GBI to conduct an investigation, but “the state is not the very best actor to be investigating itself. So, lawyers in the public interest … are here to do that.”
Many of the victims’ families now have legal representation, including civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing three of the families. “We will not rest until we uncover the truth behind this catastrophic failure and hold those responsible accountable,” Crump said in a statement. “This should never have happened, and it is crucial that we prevent future tragedies by addressing the negligence that led to this horrific event.”
According to CNN, Sapelo Island’s ferry resumed operations on Monday, just two days after the tragedy.
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