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Ferry passenger: People were running, yelling
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A routine ferry ride from Manhattan to Staten Island turned into a tragedy Wednesday, when the vessel slammed into a pier killing 10 people and injuring 42. Though there was no exact count of the passengers on board, its normal passenger load is 1,500. Some victims suffered from "massive trauma" and hypothermia, according to a hospital spokesman. Among the passengers aboard the ferry was Kenny Bucchieri. CNN Anchor Bill Hemmer asked Bucchieri on Thursday when he realized something was going terribly wrong. BUCCHIERI: I was on the upper level of the boat towards the rear, and as the boat came into where it was supposed to come into the slip, but it was 600 feet towards the Verrazano Bridge, and it crashed into the concrete pier. And as it crashed, we could hear, like, banging, like I guess it was all of the windows on the lower level all smashing. And people started running towards the back of the boat and grabbing life preservers and yelling, you know, "What did we hit, what did we hit?" And then, everyone was running from one side of the boat to the other looking out the windows to see what was going on. And on the upper level, we really couldn't tell what was happening on the lower level. None of the deck hands were letting us go down to see. You know, obviously, everyone was curious to see what was going on. It looked like the pier was lower than the lower level floor, so we didn't think that anyone really got hurt. So, everyone was just angry that, you know, now we were going to take a little extra time to get home, not realizing the destruction that was done, that people were killed and hurt so badly. After a little while, the deck hands were trying to move people towards the rear of the boat, and we -- some people, you know, they complied. They started walking back. But as soon as the deck hands turned around, people were starting to walk back towards the front because they wanted to look and see what was going on. HEMMER: Now back up one second, Kenny. When did you know that something was wrong? BUCCHIERI: Well, when -- normally when the boat pulls into the slip, it hits the pilings, it rubs against them and you can hear them. The boat jostles a little bit. It's no big deal. But when this thing hit the concrete pier, you knew something was wrong because it was a loud bang, a crashing sound, a scraping sound, and people started running. Basically, when people start running, you know something's wrong. HEMMER: Yes, was there any warning at all as you went into that part of the pier? BUCCHIERI: Well, I really wasn't looking out the window or anything. I was just reading. I'm sure some people who were towards the front of the boat at the bow, they were looking out and I'm sure they saw the pier coming up fast on them. You know, it was very windy, and a lot of people like to go outside. It wasn't really cold, so people were outside. And I imagine that people that were towards the front saw that the boat missed the slip by 600 feet and started going towards this concrete pier sideways. HEMMER: Kenny, how often do you ride that ferry? BUCCHIERI: I'm on there five days a week. HEMMER: So, you know this route pretty well, right? BUCCHIERI: Right. HEMMER: And yesterday, with the winds coming, with the speed of the ferry, at what point did you realize, other than the sound and the sight that you saw below, that this was not a regular commute for you on the ferry? BUCCHIERI: Well, when the boat hit the pier and I looked up and could I see how fast the boat was still going, that's when I knew, because usually they make announcement on the boat saying that we're going to be entering slip number whatever, and the boat starts to slow down. But that didn't happen. But I really wasn't paying attention to that because I was reading. HEMMER: Kenny Bucchieri is a witness, a passenger on board that ferry yesterday. Will you ride it again today, Kenny? BUCCHIERI: Of course. I'm a New Yorker. HEMMER: No problem? No worries? No concerns? BUCCHIERI: No problem.
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