A few witnesses said the Duck appeared to have a mechanical problem with a wheel right before the accident. Several vehicles collided on the busy Aurora Bridge, Thursday.
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Perhaps the deadliest accident involving an amphibious vehicle took place in 1999 when a vehicle sank on a lake near Hot Springs, Ark., killing 13 of the 20 passengers.
“Hearing the impact, that was the scariest part”, Katie Moody said.
A multidisciplinary team of NTSB investigators arrived in Seattle Friday afternoon.
Four foreign students have died in a horrific crash on a Seattle bridge between a “duck boat” tour vehicle and the charter bus taking them to a college orientation event.
“We were heading southbound on Aurora and the Duck boat was heading north”, Johnson said Friday, recalling the driver’s account.
Witnesses say something may have gone wrong with the duck boat’s steering or tire.
“It happened so fast”, he said. The accident was “sad, especially for the parents in other countries”, she said.
“It’s particularly painful for us knowing that the students who were on the bus were just about to start the school year Monday”, he said.
This item has been corrected to show the 18-year-old victim’s name is Privando Putradanto, not Privaudo Putradauto, and Mami Sato was 36, not 37.
State regulators also have opened an investigation, which entails inspecting all vehicle and driver records. If any violations are found fines could be levied. The “pure immensity” of the Ride the Ducks accident reportedly proved an obstacle for first responders.
Stangl said earlier Thursday, when two people had been reported dead, that it was her understanding that the fatalities were on the charter bus, as were the majority of the critical injuries.
He said the captains are Coast-Guard certified and licensed as commercial drivers, and are required to take continuing education once a month. “It was to be a fun introduction to Seattle”, she said. In both cases, the drivers told police they couldn’t see the other vehicle because of the height of the duck boats, he said. Harborview is not expecting any more patients at this time.
Ride the Ducks President and CEO Brian Tracey did not return calls for comment Friday. In the end, the agency will issue a report explaining what caused the crash and suggest ways something like this can be prevented in the future. The college said it was still working to gather information on a few of those who had been hurt. He says a typical investigation lasts a year.
Duck boats are not the only vehicles on the road that raise this criticism.
“Safety and security are always a concern”, said Cindy Brown of Boston Duck Tours. “We will get to the bottom” of the crash, he said.
The amphibious vehicle tours are offered throughout the United States and the world.
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The company that owns the boat, Ride the Ducks of Seattle, has suspended tours. “It was one of the most moving days to be mayor as I watched this city come together to help people, young people, whose families were in pain”. Four of the students on the bus were killed. While Murray noted the bridge is “structurally sound”, barriers between the two directions of traffic could be considered.
