JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An inspection report from December 2023 of the Sapelo Island dock gangway, which collapsed on Oct. 19 killing seven people, cited no issues or violations just 10 months before the catastrophic failure.
On Thursday, News4JAX received an inspection report signed by the President and CEO of Crescent Equipment Company stating that “all welds were in place, top and bottom, and no fracturing was evident.”
The report also said, “Going forward, I would recommend having the local personnel visually inspect the gangway periodically and after any severe weather.”
The gangway, installed in 2021, that fell at Sapelo Island was holding 20 or more people at the time of the collapse. It gave way as an estimated 700 people visited the largely unspoiled Sapelo Island, about 60 miles south of Savannah, for its annual fall Cultural Day event spotlighting Hogg Hummock, home to a few dozen Black residents. The community of dirt roads and modest homes was founded after the Civil War by former slaves from the cotton plantation of Thomas Spalding.
Georgia officials said the damaged gangway was removed and taken to a secured facility as part of the investigation.
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Authorities are still investigating the “catastrophic failure.”
According to the McIntosh County coroner, four of the seven people killed in the collapse were from Jacksonville. Among the other three victims, one was from Atlanta, another from “the Atlanta area” and another from Darien, Georgia.
The victims were identified as:
- Isaiah Thomas, 79, from Jacksonville
- Carlotta Mcintosh, 93, from Jacksonville
- Jacqueline Crews Carter, 75, from Jacksonville
- Cynthia Alynn Gibbs, 74, from Jacksonville
- Charles League Houston, 77, from Darien, Ga.
- Queen Welch, 76, Atlanta
- William Lee Johnson Jr., 73, from the Atlanta area