In the News: 1 dead after SUV plunges into water at Anacortes ferry dock

“But witness Farley McClean who watched it happen told KOMO News, “It was not an accident. Period. You could tell.”

“Another witness said the driver appeared to know exactly what he or she was doing.”

“Skagit County sheriff’s officials earlier said they received a call from Anacortes police about a vehicle in the water near the terminal. The Sheriff’s Office sent a dive team to assist with the recovery of the vehicle and driver. A Border Patrol dive team and the U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the scene.”

“@wspd7pio: Witnesses say the driver of a white Jeep approached the #Anacortes ferry terminal at a high rate of speed, broke through the traffic arm & went into water.”

 

June, 2006-

Belligerent motorist blows past toll booth and onto ferry:

Ferry incident exposes security weaknesses

 

Here is a state-run media report from June, 2012-

This video tells us that security personal are on site every day- at 2:56

Jan 25th, 2017:

If security personal are on site every day- why did Skagit County sheriff’s officials say they received a call from Anacortes police about a vehicle in the water near the terminal? What was the Washington State Patrol’s role in making this report?

If the Washington State Patrol was on site- why does the story rely on witness reports instead of a report from the WSP staff on site at the time of the incident?

What was Washington State Patrol staff doing during the moments the following took place:

“The driver later started the engine and drove the wrong way back toward the ticket booths, then turned back around and returned to the staging area and parked again.”

“After a couple of minutes, the driver put the vehicle back into drive, took off at a high rate of speed and went flying off the end of the loading dock, Axtman said.”

“Witnesses say the driver of a white Jeep approached the #Anacortes ferry terminal at a high rate of speed, broke through the traffic arm & went into water.”

 

Maybe security personnel are present at some specific terminal each day. Dozens of round trip crossings from various terminals indicate that in many cases- no security screening takes place prior to boarding ferries.

 

Oct, 2014-

Where were security personnel on the day this motorist blew past the ticket booth, ignoring personnel assigned to proper staging of vehicles:

Video: Man dies after SUV crashes through gate at Southworth ferry dock, sinks in Sound

Post-911 security protocols kept him safe:

Man dies after driving car off Southworth ferry dock

 

Jan, 2015-

No security personnel here, here, or here.

 

This state-run media video shows US Coast Guard gun boats escorting the ferries. K-9 teams are on site to detect explosives:

What is the point in having gunboats escorting ferries if terrorists are free to put their boat on a trailer and drive it onto the ferry?

Washington State ferry passengers are advised via PA system to not leave backpacks or packages unattended during ferry crossings.

Meanwhile- on the car deck- cars, trucks, vans, commercial vehicles, etc. are left unattended during ferry crossings.

More here: Washington State Ferries Security

 

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Photo- Extinct ferry at Kingston