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San Francisco “Ride the Ducks” Accident

It’s one of the most popular tourist attractions in San Francisco, but after a tragic tourist boat accident in the Delaware River in Philadelphia, San Francisco’s “Ride the Ducks” boat has also been canceled.

The Ride the Ducks accident on the Delaware River occurred on Wednesday afternoon. The Ride the Ducks boat had just finished a trip on land and entered the river. A few minutes later, a small fire broke out in the engine room, and the boat stalled in the middle of the river. It was at this time that the boat was struck by an 800-foot barge that was being towed by a tugboat. The 37 passengers on the tourist boat were all thrown overboard when the barge struck. The force of the collision tore the amphibious tourist boat into two.

All the passengers were brought out of the water, except two who have now been confirmed dead. The two remained missing for two days, while rescue operations continued.  Authorities have now confirmed that they have recovered at least one body from the river, and the body has been identified as that of a missing Hungarian tourist.  The wreck of the boat is also now being brought back to the surface.

The National Transportation Safety Board has already begun an investigation into the Ride the Ducks accident. One of the factors investigators are looking into is whether the tourist boat warned other vessels in the area that it had stalled. According to the US Coast Guard, it does have evidence that the vessel hailed other boats in the area, but there is no evidence that a distress signal was sent out. Investigators will also consider the condition of both the vessels that were involved in the collision. They will be reconstructing the steps leading up to the collision, and will be looking at the protocols that were followed here. The passengers on the boat as well as the crews of the tug that was towing the barge, will be questioned as part of the investigation. Investigators are also poring through radio transmissions as well as video cameras that were posted by the city of Philadelphia as well as local television stations.

As California boat accident lawyers would expect, drug and alcohol tests have been conducted on the crewmembers of both the vessels involved in this tragedy. . So far, there’s no indication that any of the crew members on either boat had been drinking. The results of the drug tests are expected to come out later in the week.

The Ride the Ducks boat is owned by the Herschend Family Entertainment company, of Norcross, Ga which acquired it in 2004. The company has now decided to suspend its operations across the country, including in San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, Newport in Kentucky and Branson in Missouri.

According to Herschend Family Entertainment, the tourist boat that was involved in the Delaware River accident was about 10 years old, and had no history of accidents or mechanical problems.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of boating accidents. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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