Novi Author Survived 1956 Shipwreck

NOVI, Mich. (WJBK) -- The stunning images of the Costa Concordia sinking off the coast of Italy bring back vivid memories for Pierette Simpson of Novi. She was nine years old when she and her grandparents were among the thousands of passengers stranded on the Andrea Doria when it was struck by the Stockholm on July 25, 1956.

"We felt this tremendous jolt," she explained. "It leaned over to its left side, the port side, stayed there for awhile, came back to center trembling, shuddering, and then it went to the right side just like the Concordia."

Simpson says she and her relatives were able to survive because of their captain's quick action, a story she tells in her book "Alive on the Andrea Doria: The Greatest Sea Rescue in History".

"It was like experiencing the movement of the floor of a house of horrors where you're going up and down and you have no idea where to find balance," said Simpson. "I was lowered with thick rope tied around my waist, dangled over the lifeboat below ... and we rode among all the debris in the Atlantic."

Simpson knows better than most people what the Concorida's 4,200 passengers experienced. The ship's captain is accused of making an unauthorized change of course that lead to the deadly crash and then abandoning the ship. He's now in jail.

"It's a captain's responsibility to give procedures to his crew immediately. It's his responsibility to keep the ship afloat with the help of the engine room crew using ballasting techniques," Simspon told us.

She will be taking part in a marine forensic symposium in April in Washington D.C. to talk about shipwrecks and how they can be prevented. She also has a new book about her experience due out in April.

Simpson says this tragedy shows, even with modern technology, safety on the seas is still a major concern. Right now, her thoughts are with crews across the world where rescue and recovery efforts are still underway.