New York
Federal investigators suspect human error in the crash of a Staten Island ferry last week, which claimed 10 lives and left about 65 wounded. The 3,300-ton ferry was moving at full throttle when it smashed into a concrete pier. As pilings and steel girders snapped and swung through the gutted ferry, some passengers had limbs torn off and others were decapitated. The assistant captain who was piloting the ferry, Richard Smith, fled the carnage and attempted suicide, later telling police he had collapsed at the controls. The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a subpoena for his blood and urine samples. The board also wants to interview the ferry’s captain, Michael Gansas, who some witnesses say rushed to the pilothouse as the ferry raced toward the dock. “By the time the other captain could get control of the ship,” said one city official, “it was too late.”
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