Emergency vehicles are seen after a Staten Island Ferry crashed into the dock today, injuring dozens. The same boat also crashed in 2003, killing 11 passengers. (Chad Rachman/N.Y.Post)
Dozens of people were hurt this morning when the same Staten Island ferry that crashed into a pier in 2003 with deadly results collided with a dock at the St. George Terminal.
At least one person was critically hurt when the Andrew J. Barberi — packed with 252 passengers and 18 crew members —hit slip seven around 9 a.m. at the St. George Ferry terminal too hard and fast.
In all, there were 17 people taken to area hospitals but a total of 37 people hurt, including 16 whose injuries were deemed “moderate” and another 20 who were considered to be in stable condition. One man was rushed in critical condition to Richmond University Medical Center with chest pains, officials said.
The terrifying collision rocked the terminal, witnesses said.
“The whole building shook. Everyone started to run towards the exit. I thought it was a bomb. The shaking of the building and seeing the smoke, everyone started running for the doors,“ said Antonina Rose, a 53-year-old medical professional who was waiting at the terminal.
“There was smoke coming from the top of the ferry. It was a blackish brown, coming from the top of the ferry. It’s not the kind of smoke you usually see. It’s kind of alarming,” she said.
“Everybody started running out of the terminal. We thought it would crash through,” said Osvaldo Torres, 37, a construction worker who was waiting for a ferry to Manhattan. “It hit hard. I felt the floor vibrating.”
The commuter ferry looked like it wasn’t going to stop, said Judy Jones, 50, of Staten Island.
“It just didn’t slow down at all – it was coming so fast everyone in the terminal started yelling and running,” she said.
The crash occurred when the ferry’s reverse throttle – which slows the ship down as it approaches the pier – failed.
“It’s like the brake on your car,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
The ship, travelling and five knots per hour (about 5.75 mph), then slammed into the pier at full speed, she said. The ferry captain has 15 years experience but was new to the Barbieri, she said.
Fire officials said the crew had enough time to move passengers away from the front of the ship which likely helped avoid much more serious – perhaps even life-threatening injuries.
“That’s why the injuries are not as severe as they could have been. They realized they were going too fast,” said Deputy Chief William Tanzosh. “That made all the difference in the world.”
When the boat made impact with the slip, the gangplanks ended up crumpled into the front of the ship.
“The ramps, they look like they are inserted in the ferry. It looks like those may have stopped the ferry. They are not down all the way. I came running to make sure the ramp operator was okay. The ramps were, I would say half way down. Now they look like they in the boat, they are I think they might be in contact with the boat,“ Rose said.
Tanzosh said the ferry’s hull was breached in two places – leaving a four-by-six and four-by-four foot gash 17 feet above the water line.
Some on the boat, however, said they had little warning they were about to make impact.
“I just heard over the intercom, someone said: ‘Red, red, red,’ and a guy came over and said: ‘Brace yourselves,’ ” said tourist Dwayne Forrest, 47. “There was no time.”
Ferry service to Manhattan resumed around 11 a.m.. The last time the Barberi ran afoul of the pier, on Oct. 15, 2003, 11 people died and dozens were injured in a commuter tragedy.
Capt. Richard Smith pleaded guilty in 2006 to 11 counts of seamen’s manslaughter after admitting that he was on painkillers and passed out in the pilothouse of the boat during the 2003 crash, in which one passenger lost his legs.
Smith fled the scene and later tried to commit suicide at his Staten Island home. A second man, former ferry director Patrick Ryan, pleaded guilty to related charged and admitted failing to enforce a rule the requires ferries be operated by two pilots.
More than 200 people sued the city since the crash, resulting in millions of payouts.
The Barberi returned to service in July 2004.