An engineering firm will investigate the deadly Georgia dock collapse

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s attorney general has brought in an engineering firm to conduct an independent investigation into a fatal dock collapse on Georgia’s Sapelo Island during a celebration for the historic Gullah-Geechee nation founded by black descendants of slaves.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which operates the dock, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have already launched a state investigation into last weekend’s incident. The state investigation will continue as the firm, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, conducts its own.

Seven people, all in their 70s, died after the aluminum footbridge collapsed on Saturday. Officials say about 40 people were on the dock when it broke and about 20 jumped into the water, many of them swept away by heavy currents as they struggled for air. Eight were taken to hospital and at least six were seriously injured.

Two of the victims were still hospitalized as of Thursday, authorities said.

The state investigation could take a long time as agencies interview witnesses and collect other evidence, including an inspection of the walkway at a “secure facility,” Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said Tuesday, according to Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

Rabon said the walkway was inspected by Georgia-based Crescent Equipment Co. less than a year ago and by the Department of Natural Resources after recent hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The department oversees dock operations on the island, which is only accessible by boat and has no medical facilities. There were seven hundred people visiting Hogg Hummock on Saturday for the annual Gullah-Geechee Cultural Day festival celebrating the community’s history. That day, the island was bustling with activity despite continued gentrification and tax increases. Many Gullah-Geechee members left the island for places with more opportunities and infrastructure.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the relatives of three of the dead, he said on Tuesday that he does not trust the state to investigate the crash. He asked the Justice Department to investigate.

The 80-foot (24-meter) walkway was supposed to be able to carry 320 people, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The dock was rebuilt in 2021 after residents sued Georgia officials over federal handicap accessibility standards on ferries and docks.

Hogg Hummock residents also claimed in the 2021 lawsuit that McIntosh County did not provide enough emergency resources to the island. One settlement with the communityMcIntosh agreed to improve emergency services, in part, by building a helicopter landing pad. Residents say the launch pad has not been built yet. A helicopter evacuating people after the crash landed instead in a field full of vegetation.

Members of the Gullah-Geechee community on and off Sapelo Island are still in mourning. Residents of Jacksonville, Florida, gathered to a prayer vigil to support grieving families Thursday at a local African Methodist Episcopal church with local pastors and politicians. Churches honored those who died, whom some now call “The Sapelo Seven”.