JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Monday marks two years since seven people were killed after a gangway collapsed on Sapelo Island during an annual Gullah Geechee celebration.<\/p>\n
Hundreds traveled to the island for the celebration. Four of the seven victims were from Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
A monument is now in process at Freedom Park to honor the victims, known as the Sapelo Seven.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville City Councilman Rahman Johnson established the monument and said the group had traveled to learn more about history.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery one of those members of the Sapelo 7 all were just wanting to find out more about history,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Johnson highlighted 74-year-old Cynthia Gibbs and 93-year-old Carlotta McIntosh, two of the Jacksonville victims remembered for their work in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Carlotta was an educator, right? Educated scores and scores of students. Cynthia worked for the Urban League and was very active in our church community,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
At least 20 others fell into the water when the gangway collapsed.<\/p>\n
Johnson said Freedom Park was chosen because it is dedicated to the Gullah Geechee tradition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe consensus was the best place for it was the park that\u2019s dedicated to the Gullah Geechee tradition, Freedom Park,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
A 100-page lawsuit filed in 2025 seeks to hold four construction companies that built and maintained the gangway accountable.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit claims the gangway was poorly designed, poorly constructed, and destined to fail. It started as a request for $35 million in damages.<\/p>\n
Savannah attorney Chad Mance, one of the attorneys involved, said the litigation has been hard-fought.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been in this litigation for, I count, a year and four months. And so this litigation has been pretty hard fought,\u201d Mance said.<\/p>\n
Mance said witnesses have been interviewed since the lawsuit was filed, and the case continues to move forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoon we hope we\u2019ll be moving toward a trial in the case,\u201d Mance said.<\/p>\n
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