Skip to main content
CNN EditionU.S.
The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!

Second crew member of crashed ferry suspended

From Phil Hirschkorn
CNN New York Bureau

The ferry Andrew J. Barberi has been moved to the Brooklyn Naval Yard.
The ferry Andrew J. Barberi has been moved to the Brooklyn Naval Yard.

Story Tools

more video VIDEO
CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports on the suspension of the ferry captain after he failed to meet with investigators.
premium content

CNN's Maria Hinojosa talks with New Yorkers who use the ferry service.
premium content

CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports on the Staten Island ferry crash that killed 10 people.
premium content
CONFIRMED FATALITIES
Joseph Bagarozza, 35
Pio Canini, 52
Vincent Ferrante, 26
John P. Healy, 44
Darios M. Marshall, 25
Guillermo Pagvay, 44
Louis Robinson, 50
Frank Sullivan, 46
John Valinski, 40
Unidentified woman, 42

Source: The Associated Press/New York City medical examiner
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Lawsuits
Disasters and Accidents
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Staten Island (New York)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The New York City Department of Transportation announced Thursday it had suspended a second Staten Island ferry worker for failing to cooperate fully with the investigation of last week's deadly ferry crash.

Robert Rush, 56, a mate on the ferry, was suspended without pay, department commissioner Iris Weinshall said.

The punitive move followed Wednesday's suspension of Capt. Michael Gansas without pay. Both men have declined to speak to either lawyers for the city's transportation department or federal investigators.

Gansas' attorney, Stephen Sheinbaum, has said in a written statement that the captain avoided scheduled interviews with the National Transportation Safety Board both Tuesday and Wednesday because "as a result of the trauma" Gansas "has been advised to avoid further stress in the immediate future."

The NTSB is leading the inquiry into the October 15 crash of the 310-foot ferry, the Andrew J. Barberi, that killed 10 people and injured dozens more.

Gansas, 38, a Navy veteran who has piloted the ferry for nearly eight years, led the 14-person ferry crew but was not at the helm when the accident occurred.

Investigators have been focusing on where crew members were when the ferry slammed into a Staten Island pier. Regulations require both the captain and assistant captain be stationed in the pilot house as the boat docks.

The NTSB has said the ferry had no mechanical or engine failure.

Rep. Vito Fosella, R-New York, who toured the damaged boat with NTSB investigators Wednesday, said he has been informed by investigators that either a deckhand or a mate was in the pilot house before the crash.

Investigators are focusing on the actions of assistant captain Richard Smith, who was piloting the boat and may have passed out on the controls, possibly due to a medical condition.

Law enforcement sources said Smith left the boat and went to his home immediately after the crash and attempted suicide. He is hospitalized in critical but stable condition and is unable to speak, his attorney said.

Both Smith and Gansas tested negative for alcohol impairment or narcotics. The NTSB has subpoenaed Smith's prescription drug records, but has yet to receive them.

Fosella, who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn in Congress, is calling on Staten Island District Attorney William Murphy to open a grand jury investigation.

Murphy issued subpoenas Thursday, but has not impaneled a grand jury.

"We are simply gathering facts," said Monica Brown, a spokeswoman for the district attorney. "The subpoenas are aiding us in our efforts to determine whether there was any criminality involved."


Story Tools
Subscribe to Time for $1.99 cover
Top Stories
Father guilty of killing 9 of his children
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards
 
 
 
 

International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Advertise With Us About Us
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.
Add RSS headlines.