Multiple people rescued from water after restaurant dock collapses

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — More than a dozen people were rescued from the water Wednesday evening after a dock collapsed during a private party behind a Folly Road restaurant, Charleston County officials say. The original call came in about 6:30 p.m. for a water rescue involving multiple people behind Crosby’s Fish and Shrimp, authorities said. Mikee Rawlings said the dock gave way. “I knew exactly what happened when I looked,” he said. “I saw the rail go up and then saw people in the water” Authorities said around 20 people were removed from the water, with no major injuries reported. Crews searched the water as a precaution but later they said they had accounted for all of the 120 people in attendance. Diners at Crosby’s said they were part of a group in town for a financial conference and had rented out the whole restaurant for a private dinner. Buses later arrived to take the conference members back to their hotel. No one was taken to the hospital, authorities said. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation. Rawlings said the tides had been unusually high and photos shared with ABC News 4 showed the dock had been covered by water earlier in the week. “It looks like structurally it gave way. Last two days we‘ve had eight-foot tides, which aren‘t common at all here,” he said. Ellen Schmedinghoff, a spokeswoman for Crosby’s, said a 20-foot section of the pier collapsed during the private party. She said more than 20 people fell in the water. A local fisherman assisted with the rescue before emergency crews arrived, she said. Schmedinghoff said only two of the guests reported minor scrapes. She said the family is not sure what caused the collapse, adding that many events are held on the dock and that both the dock and pilings are inspected regularly. The family has owned the pier since 1974 and is “deeply upset by this accident,” Schmedinghoff said. The business will be closed Thursday. County officials said engineers would assess the safety of the dock but insurance companies would likely determine the cause of the collapse.