A 20-year-old woman injured in the Sept 24 crash died on Sunday, said a spokesman for the Harborview Medical Centre.
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Earl Weener of the NTSB revealed at a news conference on Sunday the Seattle duck was refurbished in 2005, and in 2013, Ride the Ducks worldwide recommended repairs citing potential axle failure.
A representative of the Seattle duck tour company said he did not have any immediate comment on the NTSB’s account.
The president of Ride the Ducks Seattle said his main concern was for the families of the victims.
A duck boat amphibious tour vehicle carrying about three dozen people and a tour bus with about 45 on board were travelling different directions across a Seattle bridge Thursday when witnesses say they saw the duck boat’s left tire “lock up” as it swerved into the bus.
A potentially deadly duck boat accident due to axle issues isn’t a threat isolated to Seattle. It wasn’t clear how numerous 100 duck boats in service nationally may have had the fix, he said.
Five people died in the crash on Thursday, and 50 more were injured.
Inslee and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement Sunday night that the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will meet Monday to discuss its authority to suspend Ride the Ducks of Seattle until the review is complete.
At least 16 people remained at Seattle hospitals Sunday, with five in intensive care and one in critical condition.
Results of the federal probe are not expected for a year, he said.
Weener said investigators are still trying to put together a sequence of events. They plan this week to interview the driver of both the Duck and the charter bus, which was operated by Bellair Charters & Airporter, Weener said. Once the war was over, they became used by civilian law enforcement agencies and also converted to sightseeing vehicles in US cities.
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“The UTC committed today to inspecting each of these vehicles and reviewing each driver’s record”.
