{"id":119096,"date":"2024-10-27T22:27:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-27T15:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=119096"},"modified":"2024-10-27T22:27:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-27T15:27:50","slug":"dock-tragedy-is-latest-chapter-in-gullah-geechee-communitys-long-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=119096","title":{"rendered":"Dock tragedy is latest chapter in Gullah Geechee community\u2019s long struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-editable=\"content\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-reorderable=\"content\">\n<p>\n    <cite class=\"source__cite\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"source__location\" data-editable=\"location\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"source__text\" data-editable=\"source\">CNN<\/span><br \/>\n        \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<br \/>\n    <\/cite>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2pifxtd002r26p293jv7qt2@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            For the young daughters of Michael and Kimberly Wood, it was their first time at the annual festival celebrating the culture of the Gullah Geechee community on Georgia\u2019s remote Sapelo Island, the birthplace of their maternal grandmother and other descendants of enslaved Africans.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2pifz9p00003b6m250943qj@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            After a day of storytelling, poetry, religious dance and hope-filled spirituals a week ago Saturday, the Woods, other family members and dozens of festival goers waited on a floating dock and adjoining gangway for the scenic ferry ride to the mainland across marshy Doboy Sound.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2q5o1ki00083b6mwa70mpkl@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            A loud cracking sound and a sudden shifting of the gangway were the only warning before the relatively new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/10\/20\/us\/georgia-sapelo-island-ferry-dock-collapse-sunday\/index.html\">dockside aluminum walkway plunged into the water<\/a> about 60 miles south of Savannah. The collapse killed seven people, injured several others and gave his two girls what Michael Wood said was their first glimpse of the Gullah Geechee community\u2019s longtime heartache and resilience.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2q7bxm000003b6mgy1n2v8l@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cIt\u2019s that fight to survive,\u201d said Wood, a quality assurance engineer who slid down the collapsed gangway, snatched his 74-year-old mother out of the water and handed her to a stranger on the dock.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qngz3200013b6mc37xn261@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Wood said he unsuccessfully attempted to reach his 8-year-old daughter Hailey, who was eventually rescued by the boyfriend of a relative as she clung to part of the dock. His wife Kimberly, clinging to their 2-year-old daughter Riley and using a book bag as a flotation device, drifted away in the strong current before another stranger pulled them safely to shore.\n    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cm2qm3ytx004g3b6m24glp8xj@published\" class=\"image portrait image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"image000000.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\" data-original-ratio=\"1.328125\" data-original-height=\"2125\" data-original-width=\"1600\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/image000000-20241026202134353.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\">\n       <picture class=\"image__picture\"><source height=\"2125\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/image000000-20241026202134353.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"2125\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/image000000-20241026202134353.jpg?q=w_1015,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"2125\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/image000000-20241026202134353.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"2125\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/image000000-20241026202134353.jpg?q=w_680,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/image000000-20241026202134353.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\" alt=\"Michael Wood and daughter Hailey, 8, on a ferry to Sapelo Island on October 19.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"2125\" width=\"1600\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2q9mrss000c3b6mtwqwfkcp@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The October 19 tragedy is the latest chapter in the struggles of one of the last surviving Gullah Geechee communities in the Georgia Sea Islands. These descendants of Africans who were enslaved on coastal plantations in the Southeast have fought to preserve their ways of life amid what they describe as a long-standing policy of neglect by state and county officials.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2q8t9zd00053b6mv4z9opi7@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cThe call that the community has to its preservation is strong and runs deep, even risking their lives to save a life,\u201d said Joyce White, a professor and interim director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiasouthern.edu\/academics\/the-gullah-geechee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center <\/a>at Georgia Southern University. \u201cThe risk of life, or death in this instance, is for future survival.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2q9kthl00083b6madh3hqvp@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Four women and three men, all of them older than 70, were killed in the collapse, which the head of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said appears to have been caused by a \u201ccatastrophic failure of the gangway.\u201d An engineering and design firm will conduct an independent investigation in the cause, the DNR said Friday.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2q9z2a2000f3b6mzip60g6h@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/10\/22\/us\/georgia-sapelo-island-gangway-collapse\/index.html\">victims<\/a> were identified as Jacqueline Crews Carter, 75; Cynthia Gibbs, 74;\u00a0William Johnson Jr., 73; Carlotta McIntosh, 93; Isaiah Thomas, 79; Queen Welch, 76; and Charles L. Houston, 77. They had traveled to the festival from Jacksonville, Florida, Atlanta and Darien, Georgia.\n    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cm2qch0ua000n3b6mh6lkt3y3@published\" class=\"image image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"20241021-GeorgiaDockCollapseVictimsSplit02.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\" data-original-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-original-height=\"900\" data-original-width=\"1600\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/20241021-georgiadockcollapsevictimssplit02.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\">\n       <picture class=\"image__picture\"><source height=\"900\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/20241021-georgiadockcollapsevictimssplit02.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"900\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/20241021-georgiadockcollapsevictimssplit02.jpg?q=w_1015,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"900\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/20241021-georgiadockcollapsevictimssplit02.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"900\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/20241021-georgiadockcollapsevictimssplit02.jpg?q=w_680,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/20241021-georgiadockcollapsevictimssplit02.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\" alt=\"From left to right: Carlotta McIntosh, Charles Houston, Queen Welch, William Johnson Jr., Isaiah Thomas, Cynthia Gibbs and Jacqueline Crews Carter.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"900\" width=\"1600\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qcbntc000l3b6mx6e6hhcu@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Those who died were among 700 visitors to the island for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SapeloIsland\/posts\/pfbid065mXLfYixXZ9GzrsRNCkzrjAhrVNUn75AFGxZXGeqkWBgCLDTJ5NhivPgMmzXtMdl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">annual Cultural Day celebration<\/a>, which residents said used to attract as many as 2,000 people. Only 29 original descendants remain in the small hamlet known as Hogg Hummock or Hog Hammock, where their enslaved ancestors settled after being forcibly brought there in 1802. The state now owns most of the island.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qcwt1b000s3b6mv2xvp1ne@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            As festival goers waited to board a ferry returning to the mainland, the gangway came down. At least 20 people plunged into the Duplin River, officials said. There were as many as 40 people on the walkway at the time.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qcwvtw00173b6mnhv083ke@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The ferry dock was rebuilt in 2021 after a group of Gullah Geechee residents reached multimillion-dollar settlement with the state over what they claimed in a 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.relmanlaw.com\/media\/cases\/1309_206%20-%20Second%20Amended%20Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit <\/a>were soaring property taxes and inferior treatment compared to the residents on the mainland. In 2015 federal civil rights claims, residents said they were paying<strong> <\/strong>high property taxes and receiving<strong> <\/strong>inadequate services including \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.relmanlaw.com\/news-sapelo-island-settlement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">water, emergency medical, fire, road maintenance, trash, and accessible ferry services to members of the community.\u201d<\/a>\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qqz0kh00043b6mymwyd0gh@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The lawsuit\u00a0against the state was settled in 2020 and the case against the county was settled two years later. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.relmanlaw.com\/media\/cases\/1045_351-1%20Prop.%20Order%20for%20Dismissal%20with%20Prejudice%20v1%20_4850-5737-2370_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">state settlement<\/a> included the construction of the dock and \u201cnew aluminum gangways\u201d as well as improved ferry service.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qcwv8l000v3b6mmlfvnku3@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cThere should be very, very little maintenance to an aluminum gangway like that,\u201d DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon told reporters last Sunday, adding there were \u201calmost daily\u201d visual inspections of the structure.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qeoh9o001f3b6m1v7melb9@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The gangway passed four safety inspections since 2022, DNR said in a statement on Thursday. A subcontractor inspected the structure in May 2022, one day after the agency was \u201cmade aware of a loud noise that had been heard by a group on the gangway,\u201d\u00a0according to the statement.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qcwvct000y3b6mkffiylml@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The May 2022 inspection and a follow-up later that year in December both found \u201cno structural concerns with the gangway,\u201d said the agency, which owns and runs the docks and ferries. Two additional inspections were conducted after recent hurricanes Helene and Milton and \u201cno concerns\u201d were identified, the statement said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qfgadj001n3b6mg5499amz@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The cause of the collapse is also being looked at by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump \u2013 who is representing relatives of some victims \u2013 as well as a number of island residents have called for a federal probe.\n    <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subheader inline-placeholder\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/subheader\/instances\/cm2qfoyze00213b6moo0c5t86@published\" data-component-name=\"subheader\" id=\"see-where-their-grandmother-grew-up\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n        \u2018See where their grandmother grew up\u2019<br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cm2qq9pc900013b6mpb2xt0of@published\" class=\"image image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"AP24294596781306.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\" data-original-ratio=\"0.75\" data-original-height=\"1200\" data-original-width=\"1600\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap24294596781306.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\">\n       <picture class=\"image__picture\"><source height=\"1200\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap24294596781306.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"1200\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap24294596781306.jpg?q=w_1015,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"1200\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap24294596781306.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"1200\" width=\"1600\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap24294596781306.jpg?q=w_680,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap24294596781306.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\" alt=\"A portion of the gangway that collapsed October 19 on Sapelo Island.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"1200\" width=\"1600\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qfoocu001v3b6m4ra309rv@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            A week ago Saturday, Michael and Kimberly Wood, their two daughters, his mother Susie, and several other family members arrived on Sapelo from their homes throughout the state. The barrier island, about 7 miles off the coast of Georgia, is accessible only by boat or ferry.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qfvgca00243b6matf44ae0@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cI wanted my daughters to experience Cultural Day and see where their grandmother grew up,\u201d Michael Wood said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qfga6v001m3b6mcnjwpk9u@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            On the way back after the event, however, the gangway collapsed and Wood, 43, said his family got a firsthand look at the resilience and strength of an imperiled community that refuses to go away.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qg5g1p00283b6mm5txfa8o@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cA lot of people that attended the festival jumped into action,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople were falling into the water and screaming everywhere. And others rushed over from the festival to save anyone that they could.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qh2nnm002b3b6mawxmlw4g@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Video footage from the scene showed people desperately clinging to a section of the walkway, which hung at a steep angle in the water. Others in the water were dragged away by the current. Still, people dove in to help. Some hurled life jackets into the water as survivors drifted away.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qhm0v0002h3b6mr9oc536m@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Wood said he learned from his sister on the shore that his 8-year-old daughter had been rescued. He ran up and down the rugged shoreline, desperately looking for Kimberly and Riley, shouting out their names and fearing the worst. \u201cMy heart was just dropping,\u201d he said. His sister, a nurse, performed CPR on a number of people along the way.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qhmd71002n3b6my108hz6r@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Eventually, the couple, their daughters and other family members were reunited and tightly held one another with tears in their eyes.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qhmcr0002k3b6m9o80tzp4@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cThe visitors and everybody at the event jumped in quickly,\u201d said Kimberly Wood, 42, her voice still shaky days after the tragedy.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qp0v7y00033b6m5sxiacny@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cThey basically took over. They were throwing life vests. We drifted very far away and I had to wait for a life vest to float over to me. I\u2019m thankful for all the visitors and the descendants for their quick action. I do not know their names, maybe their faces, but thank you.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qi7dca002q3b6m4dhtgxks@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            J.R. Grovner, 44, who runs an island tour company and had his boat at the dock, said the initial rescue efforts in the first 30 to 45 minutes after the gangway collapse involved mostly locals and festival goers. Vessels and a helicopter from the Coast Guard and DNR appeared later, he said. Others who were there gave similar accounts.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2r0t6q000003b6m2e00ost4@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cFor almost an hour we had hell on Sapelo \u2026 and it was being tended to by civilians,\u201d he said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qjag8h002y3b6mkjwiidd6@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The DNR said other emergency agencies assisted with the deployment of boats equipped with side-scan sonar and helicopters for search and rescue missions. But officials have not released a specific timeline of the those efforts.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qjhkjv00343b6mbhm745n7@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cThis is part of our ongoing investigation. We will provide additional updates as they are made available,\u201d DNR Deputy Commissioner Trevor Santos said in an email Friday.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qmlmkb00003b6m3kw6koz7@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            At a news conference after the collapse, Rabon, the DNR commissioner, thanked civilians who took time to help. \u201cTheir quick response and action saved additional lives,\u201d he said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qjjkts00373b6meliguite@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Grovner said when he arrived at the dock shortly after the collapse, he noticed someone had loosened his boat, which had drifted away because they had been unable to start its engine. \u201cIt was like a horror scene in a movie,\u201d he said, noting that he momentarily attempted to revive a person on the shore.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qjlpr3003a3b6m9lisbn1d@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            He jumped in the water. Another boater picked him up and delivered Grovner to his own vessel, where he said he found a cousin performing CPR on two people who were already dead. They returned to the dock area and left the two bodies on the shore. Grovner said he then heard his goddaughter yell at him: Her 2-month-old daughter was unconscious after falling in the water.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qjtq3l003d3b6m684xfumw@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Grovner took the baby into his speed boat. A woman at the scene left her child with one of his relatives and volunteered to give the girl CPR as he raced to the mainland. His goddaughter suffered a fractured knee in the collapse. He left her baby girl in the hands of paramedics on the mainland, he said. She survived.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2r17ee800023b6mqwklh91x@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The other day, Grovner recalled, his granddaughter told him she doubts she\u2019ll return to Sapelo. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to hear somebody say that when their roots are from the island,\u201d he said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qk2z7u003g3b6mnyzcxcwt@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The day of the collapse Grovner eventually returned to the dock area, where he and others covered some bodies with blankets. They also used blankets to carry the injured to boats waiting to transport them to the mainland for emergency care, he said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qjels400313b6mze9fjkk6@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Reginald Hall, 59, an island native who helped chronicle the claims and organize the residents involved in the lawsuits, joined Grovner at a news conference last weekend. They demanded answers from state and county officials.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qkoydo003j3b6m8fyzyn9l@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cWhat I saw that day was the human fabric pull together and have an opportunity to make every effort they could \u2013 we could \u2013 to place ourselves not only in the shoes of the people who were suffering, but to place ourselves inside the rescue effort and say, if that were us, we would want the same type of response,\u201d Hall told CNN.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qlyplb003p3b6movag48nc@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            White, the Georgia Southern University professor, added: \u201cThe Gullah Geechee community has always had to fight for their survival. And the assaults on the culture are unceasing.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm2qpkasz000c3b6mth4v7vna@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            <em>CNN\u2019s Dalia Faheid, Ashley R. Williams,\u00a0Michelle Watson, Melissa Alonso, Sharif Paget,\u00a0Sarah Dewberry, Zoe Sottile, Philip Wang, Chandelis Duster, Adeline Chen, Teo Kermeliotis, Emma Tucker, Nicole Chavez, Devon Sayers, Kia Fatahi, Nick Valencia and Zenebou Sylla\u00a0contributed to this report.<\/em>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/10\/27\/us\/georgia-dock-collapse-gullah-geechee-community\/index.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CNN \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 For the young daughters of Michael and Kimberly Wood, it was their first time at the annual festival celebrating the culture of the Gullah Geechee community on Georgia\u2019s &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=119096\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119096\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}