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Ramp inspection report of Sapelo Island gangway found no issues 10 months prior to dock collapse

News4JAX is going through records related to maintenance, builder & designer of gangway

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.”

RELATED | After state officials release records on Georgia dock collapse, expert says gangway ‘should hold 40 people easily’

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.

Sapelo Island Gangway Inspection Report from Dec. 10, 2023. (Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.)

Georgia officials said the damaged gangway was removed and taken to a secured facility as part of the investigation.

MORE | She was helping a 93-year-old wheelchair-bound grandmother down a Georgia dock. Then she heard a crack | ‘Sapelo 7′: High-profile attorney demands justice for grieving families after deadly dock collapse in Georgia | ‘It was horrific’: Jacksonville medical professionals rushed to help victims in Ga. dock gangway collapse

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

The viewing for Carlotta McIntosh was held on Thursday. Some of the people News4JAX spoke with remembered her as a “wonderful lady,” who taught people how to read and write and always had a smile on her face when she came to church.

According to McIntosh’s obituary, she was a retired teacher, who left behind a large family including sons, siblings, and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.


About the Authors
John Asebes headshot

John anchors at 9 a.m. on The Morning Show with Melanie Lawson and then jumps back into reporter mode after the show with the rest of the incredibly talented journalists at News4JAX.

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