Yes, and Amen, CP.
Please let us blow ourselves up, should we be so inepet, fedgov...that will leave more SocSec $$$ for those that live.
- People travelling between Anacortes and the San Juan Island Monday waited in long lines after a rental car driven by a 38-year-old New York man went into the water off a Washington State Ferry.
The accident trapped the ferry Chelan at the Anacortes dock.
Pierson Smith was directing ferry traffic when the car went over.
"I had signaled that driver to proceed up the ramp and leave the vessel and he started to move in reverse. I told him to stop and he did and he played with shifter and for some reason he was disoriented or something and he just gunned it into reverse," said Smith.
"He had to go over the stopping blocks and go through the stanchions at the end of the vessel. So he had to have some speed in order to accomplish that," said terminal supervisor Pat Whalen.
The car teetered over the end for a moment, then fell into the water.
"My deck partner said stop, stop and I heard 'man overboard' as he was radioing it in," said ferry crew member Greg Tryson.
Fortunately, the car floated for a few minutes, allowing the man to get out. He was then pulled to safety by the ferry crew.
All of this brought busy ferry traffic to a standstill for about 90 minutes.
"They kept saying 10 or 15 minutes but it kept being longer because I think they were investigating," said ferry passenger, Mark Eaton.
"How would you not know that you're in reverse?" said another passenger.
That's up to the State Patrol to try and find out.
Ferry crews are just happy all that was lost was a car and a little bit of time. "It's extremely fortunate that it wasn't any worse," said Smith.
The man came away with just a broken arm.
The rental car is now in about 50 feet of water. It will be up to the rental car company to find someone to retrieve it.
.....Westy.....
Okay but we'll have to raise your taxes in order to fund the bureau that will have to publish regulations for the sale, distribution and use of fireworks. In time it will grow to include a Division of Rockets, a Sparkler Branch and a Center for Firecracker Standards. I see government growth potential here ...