Ferry hits NYC pier while docking, injuring dozens Updated at 10:33 a.m. NEW YORK A ferry from New Jersey made a hard landing at a dock as it pulled up to lower Manhattan during Wednesday morning rush hour, injuring more than 50 people, at least one critically, officials said. The Seastreak Wall Street ferry from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., banged into the mooring as it arrived at South Street around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. One person is in critical condition with head injuries. The aftermath of a ferry accident in Lower Manhattan Jan. 9, 2013 / Chris Avore Police and fire officials said at least 57 people were hurt, CBS New York station WCBS-TV reports. Some patients were carried out strapped to flat-board stretchers, their heads and necks immobilized. About a dozen passengers on stretchers were spread out on the dock, surrounded by emergency workers. A corner of the ferry is ripped open like a tin can. Passenger Richard Correra described a chaotic scene. "All of the sudden, the boat felt like it smashed into a wall," he told WCBS-TV. Dozens of passengers got thrown out of their seats, got thrown forward. Some were heading downstairs and just flew down the stairs and hit their heads on various polls and walls. A passenger, Ellen Foran of Neptune City, N.J., said people tumbled on top of one another, hysterical and crying. Ferry company officials are at the scene. Ferries are a fairly common way to commute to work in Manhattan, an island separated from New Jersey and the rest of New York City by several rivers.