On Thursday, September 24, four people were killed and dozens injured when a “Ride the Ducks” amphibious tour vehicle and a charter bus transporting foreign students collided.
In addition to the four dead, 12 people were in critical condition and many more suffered minor injuries in the crash that also involved two other vehicles.
The Aurora Avenue Bridge where the incident occurred carries Washington Highway 99 over Lake Union, with three lanes in each direction and has no barrier to separate the traffic in the north and southbound lanes. Emergency crews were quick to arrive on the scene with Northwest Hospital just one of several hospitals receiving patients.
Although investigations are still being carried out in to the cause of the crash, concerns have been raised before about the safety of these amphibious boats which were designed as military crafts and not to navigate the narrow streets of the city. The duck drivers are required to not only drive the vehicle but also be a tour guide and entertainer; all of which some feel is too much for the driver. Previous lawsuits against “Ride a Duck” have included a motorcyclist who was run over and dragged some distance in 2011 and in May 2015 when Elizabeth Karnicki was killed by a “Ride the Ducks” vehicle attributed largely to the vehicles “huge blind spots”.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident and that accident occurred in the Puget Sound area or anywhere in Washington State, please talk to the Seattle accident attorneys of the Budigan Law Firm right away. Call us at (206) 284-5305 or contact us online today to schedule your free initial consultation.
