Survivors of deadly Georgia dock collapse seek state’s help with funeral and counseling

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Survivors of a fatal track collapse at the state ferry terminal on Georgia Island said Thursday that the government must help pay for the funerals of the seven who died, as well as medical bills and mental health counseling for survivors.

Lawmakers on the Georgia Senate Urban Affairs Committee heard from four people who were on the Sapelo Island Pier on Oct. 19 when a metal gangway cracked in the middle, sending dozens of people into the water.

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

Brockington said she was waiting with others to board the day 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 bystanders used a rope to pull Brockington to safety, four members of her club died.

“The psychological effect, I don’t know if it’s ever going to go away, but we definitely need help,” Brockington told lawmakers during a video conference call from her hospital bed. “This should not have happened. The state of Georgia owes us more than resources. They need to apologize to us and they need to make sure it never happens again.”

Other survivors told a meeting in Atlanta that the harrowing day still haunts them.

Darrell Jenkinswho pulled two people out of the water but never knew whether they were alive or dead, said he continues to have nightmares and asks himself, “What about the people who might not survive? Could I have done more?”

Regina Brinson said her 79-year-old uncle, Isaiah Thomas, drowned after she had to pry his fingers out of his shirt to keep her from being pulled under the water.

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

Sapelo Island Marina is operated by the state Department of Natural Resources, which operates a daily ferry service to and from the mainland.

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

Mavuli Davis, a lawyer for some of the victims of the collapse, told lawmakers that his clients had been contacted by state investigators for questioning, but not by anyone offering help.

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

“The state is responsible,” said Sen. Donzella James, an Atlanta Democrat who chairs the committee. “We are holding this hearing to find out exactly what they are responsible for.”

The Department of Natural Resources, assisted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is investigating what caused the collapse. But attorneys for the victims said they did not trust the state agency to conduct the investigation, and Attorney General Chris Carr said last week that he had subpoenaed an engineering firm to conduct the review. independent, parallel investigation.

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

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

The press release also includes a hyperlink to an online form that affected people can fill out to file a liability claim against the state.

A representative for the Department of Natural Resources did not immediately respond to an email seeking more information about how it is assisting victims.