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Ferry Crash Probe Focuses on Pilot
10 Killed in Collision With Pier; Pilot Reportedly Fled Scene, Tried to Kill Self
By LARRY McSHANE, AP
A damaged section of the ferry
(AP Photo/WPIX NY via CNN)
NEW YORK (Oct. 16) - Authorities were investigating whether a Staten Island ferry pilot lost consciousness during a routine trip across a windy New York Harbor before the mighty vessel slammed into a pier, killing 10 people and injuring at least 42 others, including three who lost limbs.
The pilot bolted the scene so quickly that he left behind his gear and his keys, then broke into his house where he slit his wrists and shot himself with a pellet gun, a law enforcement source told The Associated Press.
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The pilot, identified by the source as Richard Smith, was in critical condition after surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday night. It was the same hospital where 22 victims - including at least one amputee - were rushed after the 3:20 p.m. crash, the city's worst mass transit accident in at least a generation.
A co-worker of Smith told authorities the pilot had been asleep, slumped over the controls, the law enforcement source told the AP.
National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Ellen Engleman, asked at a Thursday morning news briefing about reports that the pilot had passed out or fallen asleep at the wheel, said the NTSB has ''a lot of conflicting reports as far as that. We don't want to pass on stories or rumors.''
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· Pilot's Uneventful Routine Ends in Terrible Mystery
Witnesses said the boat never appeared to slow down before it hit a maintenance pier, hundreds of feet from the slips where the ferries normally dock. The ferry was immediately backed up and moved to one of the passenger slips, where rescue crews began their work.
''The scene was total chaos,'' said passenger Frank Corchado, 29, of Staten Island, recounting a tableau of horrific sights: a decapitated man, a legless woman, a fellow passenger bleeding from his eyes.
''There was a lady without legs, right in the middle of the boat,'' he said. ''She was screaming. You ever see anything like that?''
The dead, one woman and nine men, ranged in age from 25 to 52, police said. The names of all but one were released early Thursday.
The ferry's crew was to be interviewed and tested for drugs and alcohol, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The crewmembers referred investigators to their union lawyers.
"The ferry was coming too fast. They had no control to stop the boat."
-Witness William Gonzalez
Smith was being represented by an attorney, said police, who obtained a sample of his blood for testing. Telephone messages left at his home were not returned.
The 300-foot craft was carrying an estimated 1,500 people, 36 of whom were treated at the scene or were immediately taken to hospitals. Six others walked away injured and went to hospitals later.
Corchado said he tried to help as many people as possible get out. Witnesses said some jumped into the wind-swept 62-degree water and others ran as the pier chewed up the side of the boat.
''Most of the people who died were older people, I believe, who couldn't move or didn't have enough time to get out of the way,'' Corchado said.
The victims were seated in the window seats on the front right side of the Andrew J. Barberi ferry. Some of the injured were pulled from the rubble by rescue workers; one of the dead was found in the water off Staten Island.
Evan Robinson, a musician waiting for a ferry on Staten Island on Wednesday, said he watched as the craft suddenly veered crazily. Two other witnesses said the ferry appeared to speed up when it should have slowed down for docking.
''I looked on in disbelief,'' Robinson said. ''I said, 'Oh, my God, he's going to crash.'''
''The ferry was coming too fast,'' said witness William Gonzalez, who lives in a nearby apartment complex. ''They had no control to stop the boat.''
Corchado said it felt as if the ferry accelerated as it approached land, waking him as he napped on the trip home. He ran away from the front of the boat to safety. ''My soul's killing me a little bit,'' he said.
At Staten Island University Hospital, two victims with amputations were among those brought in from the ferry, said spokeswoman Arleen Ryback. Others were suffering from back and spinal injuries, one victim reported chest pains and one had hypothermia.
Ferry service was immediately shut down, forcing thousands of rush hour commuters to head for buses and taxis. Service resumed early Thursday with a boat departing from the St. George terminal just after 5 a.m.
One of those aboard the early morning boat, Greg Ellis, 48, said he was a little nervous.
''You're always thinking it could happen again if it happened one time,'' Ellis said.
Engleman said the agency would be taking over the investigation, which could take up to a year to complete. The NTSB would investigate human factors, engineering factors, deck operations and weather conditions in its probe, she said. Winds were gusting up to 40 mph when the accident occurred.
The agency will also look into the records of the vessel's crew members and how they spent the previous 72 hours, Engleman said. She also said the boat, which had suffered ''very dramatic'' damage, was being secured and would be moved from the dock as soon as possible.
The tragedy occurred on a day when the city was focused on the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox playoff game. Bloomberg was at the game when he heard the news and rushed to Staten Island.
''People who were on the way home, all of a sudden, taken from us,'' said Bloomberg, who announced the deaths after touring the splintered wood, twisted steel and shattered glass aboard the ferry.
The ferry is among the city's most beloved institutions, providing free rides and offering a spectacular view of New York Harbor. It carries 70,000 commuters per day between Staten Island and lower Manhattan.
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