A dock gangway collapse at Sapelo Island, Georgia on Saturday left seven people dead, but the death toll could have been higher were it not for bystanders who stepped in to help.
The barrier island is located about two and a half hours northeast of Jacksonville in McIntosh County. Four of the people who died were from Jacksonville. The others were from the Atlanta area and Darien, Ga.
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Many people were on the island Saturday for the Gullah-Geechee festival. Among them were two medical professionals from Jacksonville who told News4JAX they will never forget what they saw.
“It was horrific,” said Tracey Ramey-Sheppard, who is a nurse practitioner.
“It wasn’t good at all,” said nurse Teresa Haywood.
But on the bus back to the ferry, the driver shared shocking news: the gangway to the ferry dock had collapsed.
“Teresa and I were like, ‘Wait, what did you just say? There are people in the water?’ And we’re like, no, we have to go, because we’re first responders,” said Ramey-Sheppard.
They didn’t hesitate, running and then catching a ride a few hundred feet to the scene.
The first thing Ramey-Sheppard noticed was the ferry.
“There were people standing, but there was no way to get onto that ferry,” she said. “The plankway wasn’t there. And then we looked down the beach, and there were people in the water. There were bodies laying on the shore.”
With mud sucking down their feet, they rushed to help who they still could.
“I went farther down because there were people, I would say, probably like a football field down the shore from the pier that were in the water. People were pulling them out. So I was triaging people…‘Are you okay? Can you breathe?’” said Ramey-Sheppard.
They estimated the gangway had collapsed just minutes before they arrived.
“I know when we were there, it may have been at least, you know, your adrenaline is pumping, but it seemed like it was at least 10 minutes before I actually saw a lifeguard boat,” said Ramey-Sheppard.
“I had been working on a guy, 10-15 minutes...a young lady did come by come by with an Ambu mask, a mask and that was the first person I saw of medical. Aside from that, I don’t recall seeing anyone on the shore,” Haywood said.
They estimated they were on the scene for at least 40 minutes.
Asked what they would take away from that day, Haywood said, “Just compassion...everyone needs to pitch in. I mean, and we saw that. We saw everybody pulling together trying to help those that were in distress. And we just need more of that.”
“And I’m going to take away: tell your loved ones every day that you love them,” Ramey-Sheppard said. “Try to be there for them, because tomorrow is not promised and your life can be gone just like that in an instant.”
The commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources credited bystanders like them with saving lives.
He said they had 40 staff members on the island Saturday, which was one of its busiest days of the year, and that the Coast Guard and local sheriff’s and fire departments also joined search and rescue efforts with boats and helicopters on the island, which is not accessible by vehicle.
The cause of the collapse is now under investigation.