Dude Drives Truck Off Chappy Ferry Ramp Into Edgartown Harbor

MVTimes.com – Edgartown Police said Benjamin Knight, 35, circled the Chappaquiddick ferry parking lot twice before he intentionally drove his white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck off the Chappy ferry ramp and into Edgartown harbor just before noon, Monday.

The swift current swept the truck into the channel and deeper water as Mr. Knight crawled out the window. Luckily, assistant Edgartown harbormaster Mike Hathaway just happened to be nearby in a patrol boat. Mr. Hathaway plucked Mr. Knight from the water and managed to secure a line to the truck and pull it out of the channel to the Chappy shoreline where it was later winched to dry land.

Mr. Knight was transported to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for mental and medical evaluation. He was not injured but was committed for mental evaluation, police said.

The Chappy ferry was not in the slip at the time of the accident. The truck barreled through a safety chain and a wooden lift gate that prevents entrance to the slip until the ferry operator signals vehicles forward.

Mr. Knight told officers that the gas pedal had become stuck and he could not stop his truck, according to a police press release.

“Investigation revealed that there had been no mechanical issue with the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and it was a standard transmission,” police said. “Video footage showed that Knight had circled the ferry parking lot twice just prior to running off the ramp. Officers concluded that this was an intentional act.”

Ah the old ‘gas pedal was stuck in a truck with a manual clutch’ excuse after driving off the Chappy Ferry ramp into Edgartown Harbor. A story as old as time itself. Given that you could just hit the clutch and then the brake to stop the truck in that situation, I personally would have gone with sunstroke causing me to hallucinate and think the ferry was there, but that’s just me. You know six to one, half dozen to another.