Captain who crashed ferry in West Seattle had long history of work troubles, records show

Investigations by WSF and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found Cole momentarily fell asleep at the wheel on July 28, 2022, as the boat was coming into the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal. 

With the ferry moving at full speed, it hit what’s called a “dolphin” — a bundle of pilings meant to help guide vessels in for a safe landing. The collision ripped a huge hole in a corner of the boat and about 30 feet of the forward port section of the passenger deck collapsed onto the car deck. Some of the mangled metal penetrated the interior of a parked car. According to NTSB investigators, the wreckage just missed an occupant sitting in the driver’s seat.

“The opening of the ferry was like a giant movie screen,” said Christensen’s wife Terra Schaller who was also on the boat and was the first to call 911. “I thought we were going to die.”

The crash investigations, in addition to KING 5 interviews with current and former WSF employees, found Cole had a reputation of being “always tired,” and “especially exhausted in the morning,” after reporting for work.

The Cathlamet was out of service for eight months. According to WSF, repairs to the ferry and dolphin cost nearly $7 million. Calculations by the KING 5 Investigators show the boat missed approximately 10,000 sailings.

“I’m very disappointed. We put people’s lives in jeopardy,” said Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima), who is a ranking member of the state’s Joint Transportation Committee. “It was already a system in trouble, and [the crash] just exacerbated all the challenges that we had. Then we have to look at the cost and the citizens of the state of Washington need to bear that cost.”

A WSF spokesperson said since the crash, the system has made improvements to prevent collisions from happening again.

“These include a new Bridge Resource Management policy that standardize pilot house operating standards fleet-wide, additional training and the installation of ‘black box’ voyage recorders on the Cathlamet which will also become standard equipment on every state ferry," wrote Ian Sterling, WSF public information officer in a statement to KING 5. “Safety is WSF’s top priority and we’ll continue to work with our federal partners including the United States Coast Guard to implement changes as necessary.”

The first documented sign of trouble for Capt. Cole occurred in 2018. State Ferries manager Jay Mooney issued him an oral reprimand for being late to work. Tardiness is an especially serious offense at WSF as it may lead to cancellations of sailings that hundreds of people depend on. Cole’s failure to report to work on time on Nov. 7, 2018, resulted in the cancellation of the first round-trip of the day between Vashon Island and West Seattle.

“I’m directing you to adhere to the WSDOT Ferries Division’s policies on attendance and to be at your assigned (shift) on time and ready to go to work. Failure to meet these directives may result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination,” Mooney wrote.

Codes of conduct violations

In 2020, Cole was late three more times. Managers at WSF launched a detailed internal investigation after one of those failures to report to work in a timely manner. On Jan. 14, 2020, Cole told the WSF Operations Center he was at the helm of the Ferry Kittitas, crossing the sound from Southworth to Vashon. 

That wasn’t true. 

The investigation found Cole was still on the dock, inside Southworth ticket booth #2. He also signed an official logbook indicating he was on the boat. In fact, a chief mate, who didn’t have the authority to pilot the vessel without Coast Guard approval, was at the helm.

Cole told WSF investigators it had snowed the night before and he had trouble getting out of his driveway.

“Capt. Cole admitted he made a mistake and did not call in advance (to warn he would be late),” wrote WSF investigators. “He (said) he lied because he panicked and didn’t want to be seen late. He said he should have told the truth.”

An internal review found Cole violated six codes of conduct including “abandoning his worksite,” “neglecting his duties,” and “falsification of documents.”

The records disclosed to KING do not show any management action after the January 2020 incident: no reprimands, no suspensions, no disciplinary measures.

“I’m very disappointed. When you have an incident like this where the individual says he’s there but he’s not there, somebody has to hold them responsible,” said Sen. King.

Retired WSF Operations Center Port Captain Pete Williams, who worked at state ferries system for 43 years, said management missed a key opportunity to intervene after the January 2020 event.

“Some type of action should have been taken,” Williams said. “It was obvious something was going on with Captain Cole. They missed the opportunity to really sit down and take a look at it and say, ‘What can we do here?’”

Cole received a written reprimand after the third time he was late in 2020. Again, North Region Port Captain Jay Mooney wrote that failure to follow WSF rules in the future “may result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

Three months after the reprimand, on February 24, 2021, the captain was late again by nearly three hours. That forced the cancellation of three round trip sailings “due to lack of qualified crew.” 

Ferry riders said this is infuriating as they rely on the service to attend important appointments such as doctor visits, getting to school, and showing up to work on time.

“I’m lucky I didn’t lose my job that day — being stuck on the island for three boats. You can’t make a meeting, can’t keep a job,” passenger Christensen said.

Cole said he had a flat tire on the way to work and had to walk home to inflate the tire there. He offered to produce a receipt to show he’d had a maintenance check on the tire a few days before the incident, and that nothing wrong was found. No receipt was submitted.

A WSF “Fact Finding Meeting” on the February 2021 incident led to a three-day suspension in October 2021.

Several current and former WSF employees said Capt. Cole kept “getting passes" from management, and that Washington State Ferries lacks a culture of accountability.

“That’s one of the reasons why I decided to retire. I saw the culture changing where if you wanted to hold someone accountable, really hold them accountable, it was very difficult,” said Williams, the former WSF manager.

A current employee said problems persist today.

“Our leadership is lacking leadership. Holding people accountable, setting expectations — all of that is lost at Ferries right now. It’s a culture problem. It’s a blame culture instead of an empowerment culture,” said a current WSF employee.

Ominous note

Four months after the captain’s suspension, someone delivered an anonymous note to WSF management that read: “I think someone should get some help for Captain Dave Cole. Some of us crew members don’t feel safe.”

A WSF spokesperson said that prompted an unannounced “welfare check” on the captain during his shift, but that managers “did not find cause to remove him from duty.”

Five months after that, on July 28, 2022, the Cathlamet crashed. 

After recently hearing about how WSF management handled the captain’s history, passengers onboard that day said the collision wasn’t the fault of one captain, but the entire organization.

“Dave Cole didn’t crash a boat," said passenger Terra Schaller. "Washington State Ferries crashed a boat."