Hatteras ferry crew recognized for January rescue

RALEIGH, N.C. – The N.C. Board of Transportation on Wednesday honored the crew of a state ferry for a rescue that likely saved the lives of two men and their dog on Jan. 12.

The dramatic rescue occurred when crew members on the M/V Hatteras , while tying up the ferry at the Ocracoke-South Dock Terminal, noticed two men hanging onto an overturned boat swiftly floating out of Hatteras Inlet toward the Atlantic Ocean. Ferry Captain Bill Davis then sounded the ferry’s general alarm and notified the U.S. Coast Guard of the emergency.

Crew members Gerald Huneycutt and David Butler then launched the ferry’s rescue boat and traveled a half mile to the overturned boat’s location. The men clinging to the boat alerted the rescuers that their dog was trapped underneath the overturned vessel.

The crew members pulled the two men and the canine out of the water and into the rescue boat, eventually bringing them on board the M/V Hatteras . Other ferry crew members involved in the rescue were Chief Engineer Robbie Meekins, Oiler Amanda Przygodzinski and crew member Calob Fulford.

“The quick actions of our crew likely saved all three lives,” said Ferry Division Interim Director Jed Dixon. “All our crews run rescue drills weekly, and on that day that training and knowledge was critical in a difficult situation.”

The hunters, Mike Herulan of Salisbury and Doug Illing of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and their dog Fin, were wet and cold but otherwise in good health. The M/V Hatteras resumed its regular schedule after the rescue was over.

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