VIDEO: A master of a tug boat fell asleep at the helm in the moments before a massive barge drifted toward shore and crashed into three waterfront homes along Gig Harbor's Sunrise Beach Monday morning, according to initial findings from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Island Chief had been towing an unmanned gravel barge south toward Tacoma around 7:30 a.m. when it instead veered into the docks and waterfront decks of the homes in the 9500 block.
"I was watching the news and I looked and saw this barge out there and I thought he was awful close," said Rhonda Schwab, who has lived in the home for nearly 14 years. "So I got up and went to the door and he was aiming toward the house. So I started screaming at him to see if I could get his attention, and then he crashed into the corner of the house. I thought it was going to tear our house down."
One resident had set up a camera to record the morning sunrise and instead captured the collision.