When a car driven by 19-year-old Emma Fretts appeared to be seconds away from slipping into the James River as she tried to drive onto the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry, a deckhand on the ferry grabbed her car and held on tight.
That did not stop Fretts, the lone occupant of her 2006 Scion tC from sliding into the river Aug. 7 after the ferry began pulling away from the dock despite the fact cars were still boarding. Fretts escaped from her car unharmed, but the same cannot be said for her iPhone, purse, wallet, school notes and much of her clothing, according to written testimony she provided to investigators following the incident.
The Virginia Department of Transportation released this week a lengthy collection of written testimonies from people connected to that incident, as well as a summary of their findings in an investigation. Fretts was unharmed in the incident.
The incident appears to have been caused by miscommunication between a deckhand and Capt. Jack Goolsby, who thought a deckhand was giving him the “all clear” signal to begin leaving the dock, according to the report. VDOT Spokesperson Lauren Hansen said a policy has been instituted now requiring the lead deckhand to walk up to the deckhouse in person to give the “all clear” signal.
VDOT officials determined Goolsby, who was in command of the “Surry” at the time of the incident, left his post “well ahead of the time an all clear signal would have been given” and then walked to the other wheelhouse on the opposite end of the ship — facing the Scotland ferry terminal — and pulled away from the dock. Goolsby no longer works for VDOT.
The previous protocol was for the mate to give the “all clear” sign by making an extended arm wave to the captain in the wheelhouse. The captain acknowledges that by returning the extended arm wave to the mate. Surveillance footage from the scene showed Goolsby leaving the wheelhouse without having received the “all clear” signal, according to the report.
Another safety change recommended from the proposal suggests annual refresher courses for all crew members on the procedure manual, including the proper method for communication between captain and crew. Pre- and post-training testing would be used to ensure crew members understand procedures. Redundant communication systems are already in place, though the report calls for protocols to be reviewed.
Fretts’ testimony said she was getting on the ferry, with the front of her car on the boat and the rear on the gate. Surveillance footage of the scene corroborated the position of her vehicle at the time the incident began. She said the ferry employees who wave cars onto certain lanes started running toward her car and waving their hands as if they were panicking and that she didn’t know what was going on, so she continued to pull onto the ferry.
She said she felt her car smash into something below her — she thinks it was the back wheels accelerating off the ramp — as her fender landed on the gate, catching the car over the water.
“I then realized what was happening and tried to accelerate in hopes that I could make it onto the ferry before falling into the water, but I didn’t,” Fretts wrote. “Then my car fell in (I think front first). “
She said she began panicking and tried to get the window down, but she was hitting the wrong button. Her car door would not open. She said she calmed down and thought about what to do when she realized she was hitting the wrong button to put the window down.
When her car went into the water, it became submerged and then floated back up. She got her window down when the car went back to the surface, so she climbed out and held onto the gate while standing on the roof of her car. She climbed around the gate, taking a man’s hand who helped her onto the top of the gate where she watched her car sink into the river.
The documents include written testimonies from the crew members on board the ship at the time the incident occurred. As the ferry began to pull away, a line connecting it to the ramp on the Jamestown side of the ferry snapped, according to deckhand John Novaro. The lines are not meant to hold a ship when its engine is engaged, according to the report. He said he saw the front end of a car, with “wheels smoking for traction” and then the front of the car disappeared.
Goolsby’s handwritten testimony said he saw a wave from mate Ronald Reyes which he understood to be a signal that it was time for the ferry to depart. He said the crew was standing at the gate as if they were ready to depart. He said he did not notice cars were still boarding the ferry when they departed.
Reyes, a mate on the boat, said about six vehicles were already loaded on each side of the boat — the “Surry” can hold 50 cars — when he saw the boat was beginning to move away from the pier. He said he ran toward the ramp and tried to stop incoming traffic. He yelled “speed up” at the vehicles, and two of them managed to make it on board. He said Fretts sped up, however she did not make it fully onto the boat.
Reyes said he repeatedly tried to get Goolsby’s attention over the radio but did not have any luck. He said he ran to the wheelhouse where Goolsby should have been but he was not there. Eventually he found him as the rescue boat was being readied to go in the water. Fretts was seen climbing out of the water on the side of the ramp.
A drug test and an alcohol test administered to Goolsby shortly after the incident both came back negative.
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