Jamestown Surry Ferry

[Blk97F150]

http://wtop.com/120/3416645/Va-ferry-captain-suspended-during-accident-probe

JAMESTOWN, Va. (AP) -- The captain of a James River ferry has been suspended while authorities investigate why a car fell into the river while the ferry began to pull away from a dock.

The car's driver had to swim to the dock and was pulled to safety Wednesday night. She didn't appear to be injured. The car was removed from the water and ferry service resumed Thursday morning.

 

[va_tazdad]

I got $5

says that she "brandished " one or more fingers at them.

Did the Coward of the County have her arrested too?

 

[skidmark]

Other than the fact that maritime law does hold the captain of a vessel ultimately responsible for eveything that happens, I wonder why there is no mention of the deck crew who are supposed to inspect and signal that everything is secure. Also, the lack of information about how the car fell off - crashed through the chains and gate? had one set of wheels still on the dock when the ferry pulled away? driver thought she had left the stove turned on and was trying to go home to check? really frosts my admittedly outdated, ancient, and archaic sense of basic journalism.

The individual mentioned has not been employed there for some time, as far as attempts to contact him have indicated.

stay safe.

 

[Grapeshot]

Does seem to be some gaping holes in the story - big enough to drop a car through.

 

[Blk97F150]

A portion of an article with more details. See the link for the complete article.

http://articles.dailypress.com/2013...-ferry-service-vdot-spokeswoman-lauren-hansen

Trisha Quintana was feet from Fretts' car as it fell into the water on the Jamestown side of the ferry service.

Quintana, who lives in Surry, was driving her car up the ramp to board the ferry immediately behind Fretts around 8 p.m. on Wednesday. She said about eight or 10 vehicles were boarding the ferry. A crew member on the ferry suddenly began to wave his hands, signaling cars to stop and back up.

Quintana stopped immediately and noticed that the ferry was moving away from the dock — just as the car in front of her was boarding the vessel.

"(The ferry) took off. As (Fretts) was boarding, her two front tires were on the ferry and her two back tires were on the grid," Quintana said. "I heard the ropes snapping and all of a sudden I see her car falling."

 

[Blk97F150]

Another.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/jamestown-ferry-closed-after-incident

VDOT spokeswoman Lauren Hansen said vehicles were still boarding the ferry when it began pulling away from the pier around 8 p.m. A woman's vehicle sitting halfway on the ferry and halfway on the loading ramp fell into the James River as a result.

A witness told WAVY.com the ferry was still moored to the dock and only a few cars had loaded onto the boat when it began to pull away. The witness said the driver of the vehicle rolled down her window, climbed out and stood on top of her car as it sunk to the bottom of the river.

Based on the info available, it appears that the Capt pulled away while they were still in the process of loading cars.

We were just on the ferry a couple weekends ago. The deck workers were very methodical in how they loaded cars, and secured the gate, etc... before the ferry pulled out.

 

[skidmark]

I wonder if there is not a state or federal requirement that the ferry be secured on arrival and lines not cast off but on command on departure, for just this reason.

As some may know, I have lived on an island accessible only by water or air, and the ferry has always been secured with two lines before the ramp-gate is lowered.

I'm willing to bet that over the years NTSB and the Coast Guard have put together at least a few rules/regulations on what needs to be done before you get to "cast off forward (starboard), cast off aft (port)."

I know the deck crew has radios to communicate with the bridge. I'm surprised they do not have air horns to signal thje bridge as well. I'm pretty sure that on the James there would be little confusion that a series of short horn blasts dockside meaning "Hey! Pay attention! Something is wrong" would be confused with the international maretime signal of 13 short blasts to indicate "Iceberg ahead".

stay safe.

 

[paramedic70002]

The Captain was fired and I'm betting the young lady is getting a shiny new car.

See her interview here: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/video/video...ent?ref=scroller&categoryId=20000&status=true

Maybe the Captain wanted to recreate the commercial that shows the same thing.

 

[Grapeshot]

True that the ferry captain has the ultimate responsibility, but how does the ferry move away if secured to the pier/landing?

And why do people talk so much, so freely, after such an incident?

Still another survivor of the Jamestown/Scotland ferry - she'll have something to tell her grandchildren.

 

[Wolf_shadow]

The Captain was fired and I'm betting the young lady is getting a shiny new car.

See her interview here: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/video/video...ent?ref=scroller&categoryId=20000&status=true

Maybe the Captain wanted to recreate the commercial that shows the same thing.

That was the first thing I thought about when I saw this story. Maybe he thought they were re-shooting it. :banghead:

 

[2a4all]

I wonder if they'll take steps to safeguard any VDOT video for use as evidence?

 

[Blk97F150]

I wonder if they'll take steps to safeguard any VDOT video for use as evidence?

HA! Good point!

 

[Grapeshot]

I wonder if they'll take steps to safeguard any VDOT video for use as evidence?

All too often either the camers are found to not be working or the evidence was not considered to be relevant and were recorded over. :banghead:

 

[TFred]

From the Daily Press article linked above, this would seem to be a significant report:

"(The ferry) took off. As (Fretts) was boarding, her two front tires were on the ferry and her two back tires were on the grid," Quintana said. "I heard the ropes snapping and all of a sudden I see her car falling."

Seems to clearly point to the captain leaving before the ferry was ready.

This teaches me two things:

1. The ferry engines are stronger than the ropes.
2. Just like a busy intersection, always wait until there is a spot to safely go before committing through the light (or railroad crossing, or ferry loading ramp, as the case may be.)

TFred

 

[markand]

The "ropes snapping" thing would seem to put responsibility squarely on the captain for pulling away before vehicles were loaded and secured. Need some bigger ropes!

 

[peter nap]

The ropes snapping is in their imagination.
There are no ropes unless it's taken out of service for more than a few minutes.

When loading and unloading, the ramp is lowered by the deck crew and locks the ferry to the ramp. The boats engines are revved to keep it tight against the bulkhead.

What they heard snapping were probably safety chains.

 

[mobeewan]

Was anyone open carrying?

 

[Grapeshot]

Was anyone open carrying?

Frequently OC on the ferry and this is part of the scene of numerous past "events" surrounding certain problems involving state contract personnel and local LEA. The ferry is part of the Virginia highway system and as such is covered by preemption.

 

[Repeater]

Texting while Ferrying?

Wonder of Goolsby was packing a cellphone?

Brandishing a cellphone can be dangerous. Say, I wonder if the ferry has a "black box" suitable for investigators?

911 Call

 

[Repeater]

James City Commonwealth's Attorney in court for misconduct

Gee, why just him -- how about certain other Commonwealth's Attorneys who are nearby?

Williamsburg's top prosecutor to get day in court in misconduct case

Many Virginia State Bar complaints end up being settled long before the cases end up in a public hearing such as Green's. Such deals often amount to a slap on the wrist in the form of public or private admonishments or reprimands.