"Survival Battle Continues": Dock Catastrophe Serves as New Episode in Gullah Geechee Community's Prolonged Struggle
Following a day filled with storytelling, poetry, spiritual dances, and uplifting music the past Saturday week, the Woods, family members, and numerous festival attendees awaited on a floating dock and connecting gangway for a picturesque ferry ride across marshy Doboy Sound towards the mainland.
An unexpected and alarming cracking sound, followed by a sudden shifting of the gangway, served as the only warning before the relatively new aluminum dock walkway plummeted into the water, located around 60 miles south of Savannah. Tragically, the collapse resulted in the loss of seven lives, left many injured, and provided an unforgettable and unintended introduction to the Gullah Geechee community's longstanding struggle and resilience, as per Michael Wood.
Wood, an engineer, recounted his efforts to rescue his two young daughters, ultimately managing to save his 74-year-old mother but unable to locate his 8-year-old daughter Hailey. She was eventually rescued by the boyfriend of a relative, clinging to remnants of the dock. His wife Kimberly, holding their 2-year-old daughter Riley and using a backpack as a makeshift flotation device, was swept away by the strong current. However, a kind stranger ultimately pulled them to safety.
The October 19 incident represents the most recent setback for one of the last surviving Gullah Geechee communities situated in the Georgia Sea Islands. These descendants of enslaved Africans working on coastal plantations in the Southeast have continually fought to protect their traditions, despite their claims of persistent neglect by political leaders.
“The determination to preserve our culture is powerful and unwavering, even at the risk of one’s life to save another’s,” said Joyce White, a professor and the temporary head of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center at Georgia Southern University. “The risk of life, or even death in this instance, stems from the desire to ensure future survival.”
Four elderly ladies and three men, all over 70 years old, were among the victims, who had traveled to the festival from Jacksonville, Florida, Atlanta, and Darien, Georgia.
The gangway underwent an inspection in 2022 after a surprising commotion
The 700 festival-goers who perished were a part of the annual Cultural Day celebration, which was previously attended by up to 2,000 people. Only 29 original descendants reside in the humble settlement known as Hogg Hummock or Hog Hammock, where their enslaved forefathers settled in 1802 and where the state now holds title to most of the island.
While waiting to embark on the ferry return journey to the mainland, the gangway collapsed, causing approximately 20 individuals to plunge into the Duplin River, as reported by officials. Around 40 people were on the walkway at the time.
The dock was refurbished in 2021, following a multimillion-dollar settlement with the state by a group of Gullah Geechee residents. They alleged soaring property taxes and subpar services, compared to those on the mainland, in a 2019 lawsuit. Federal civil rights complaints from 2015 stated that the residents were paying exorbitant property taxes and receiving inadequate services, such as "water, emergency medical, fire, road maintenance, trash, and ferry services for community members."
The lawsuit against the state was settled in 2020, and the case against the county was resolved two years later. The settlement with the state included the construction of the dock and "new aluminum gangways," along with enhanced ferry services.
“There should be minimal maintenance required for an aluminum walkway like that,” DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon said to the press last Sunday, adding that there were “nearly daily” visual inspections of the structure.
The gangway passed four safety inspections since 2022, according to the DNR. A subcontractor conducted an inspection one day after the agency became aware of a loud noise heard by multiple individuals on the ganway in May 2022, stating that they identified "no structural concerns with the gangway."
Two additional inspections were carried out following hurricanes Helene and Milton, and no issues were detected, stated the DNR. The cause of the collapse is also being scrutinized by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, representing some victims' relatives, along with various island residents, have called for a federal investigation.
‘Visit the location where their grandmother was born and raised’
One week ago Saturday, the Wood family, including Michael and Kimberly Wood, their two daughters, and his elderly mother Susie, traveled to Sapelo from various locations around the state. The secluded barrier island, situated about 7 miles off the Georgia coast, can only be reached by boat or ferry.
“I wanted my daughters to participate in Cultural Day to experience where their grandmother grew up,” Michael Wood said.
"Loads of people at the festival sprang into action," they claimed. Folks were tumbling into the water and screaming left and right. Others dashed from the festival to save anyone they could.
Video recordings from the spot depicted individuals clinging desperately to a slanting portion of the walkway, submerged in the water. Others in the water were swept away by the current. Yet, individuals still dived in to help. Some even tossed life jackets into the water as survivors floated away.
He was informed by his sister on the shore that his 8-year-old daughter had been rescued. He frantically searched the rough shoreline, shouting for Kimberly and Riley, fearing the worst. "My heart was just sinking," he stated. His sister, a nurse, administered CPR to several individuals during their journey.
Eventually, the family, including the daughters and other relatives, were reunited, embracing tightly with tears in their eyes.
"The people who attended the event and the visitors jumped in immediately," said Kimberly Wood, 42, her voice still shaky days following the tragedy.
"They basically took control. They were throwing life vests. We drifted quite far away and I had to wait for a life vest to float over to me. I’m grateful for all the people who came to help. I don't know their names, maybe their faces, but thank you."
“We would expect the same kind of reaction”
J.R. Grovner, 44, who operated an island tour business and had his boat docked there, stated that the initial rescue attempts in the first 30 to 60 minutes after the gangway collapse primarily involved locals and festival goers. Vessels and a helicopter from the Coast Guard and DNR arrived later, he said.
"For nearly an hour, we had chaos on Sapelo ... and it was being managed by civilians," he said.
The DNR reported that other emergency agencies assisted with deploying boats equipped with side-scan sonar and helicopters for search and rescue operations. However, officials have not provided a detailed timeline of these efforts.
"This is part of our ongoing investigation. We will release updates as they become available," DNR Deputy Commissioner Trevor Santos said in an email on Friday.
At a press conference following the collapse, Rabon, the DNR commissioner, thanked the civilians for their aid. "Their quick response and actions saved additional lives," he said.
Grovner stated that upon arriving at the dock shortly after the collapse, he discovered someone had released his boat, which had drifted away due to engine malfunction. "It was like a horror movie scene," he said, noting that he briefly attempted to revive a person on the shore.
He jumped into the water. Another boater picked him up and transported him to his own vessel, where he found his cousin performing CPR on two deceased individuals. They returned to the dock area and left the two bodies on the shore. Grovner then heard his goddaughter shout that her 2-month-old daughter had collapsed in the water.
Grovner took the baby in his speedboat. A woman on the scene handed him her child to give CPR as he raced to the mainland. His goddaughter sustained a broken knee in the collapse. He left the baby in the care of paramedics on the mainland, he said. She survived.
The other day, Grovner recalled, his granddaughter told him she had no intention of returning to Sapelo. "You don't want to hear someone say that when their roots are from the island," he said.
The day of the collapse, Grovner eventually returned to the dock area, where he and others covered some bodies with blankets. They also utilized blankets to transport the injured to boats waiting to transport them to the mainland for emergency care, he said.
Reginald Hall, 59, an island native who assisted in documenting the claims and coordinating the involvement of the local residents in the lawsuits, joined Grovner at a press conference last weekend. They demanded answers from state and county officials.
"What I witnessed that day was the fabric of humanity coming together and making every effort they could – we could – to place ourselves not only in the shoes of those who were suffering, but to place ourselves inside the rescue effort and say, if that were us, we would expect the same kind of reaction," Hall told CNN.
White, the Georgia Southern University professor, added: "The Gullah Geechee community has always had to fight for its survival. And the attacks on the culture are unceasing."
CNN’s Dalia Faheid, Ashley R. Williams, Michelle Watson, Melissa Alonso, Sharif Paget, Sarah Dewberry, Zoe Sottile, Philip Wang, Chandelis Duster, Adeline Chen, Teo Kermeliotis, Emma Tucker, Nicole Chavez, Devon Sayers, Kia Fatahi, Nick Valencia and Zenebou Sylla contributed to this report.
In response to the incident, Wood expressed his gratitude towards the strangers who helped save his family, stating, "I don't know their names, maybe their faces, but thank you."
Additionally, Hall, an island native, emphasized the community's resilience, stating, "What I witnessed that day was the fabric of humanity coming together and making every effort they could – we could – to place ourselves not only in the shoes of those who were suffering, but to place ourselves inside the rescue effort and say, if that were us, we would expect the same kind of reaction."
