Created: Aug 2, 2010 Last Updated: Aug 2, 2010
PHILADELPHIA—Attorneys for families of victims of a boating accident in Philadelphia say the accident could have been avoided, and are calling for a ban on future river tours.
On July 7, a barge on the Delaware River in Philadelphia plunged into a stalled duck boat. Two Hungarian student tourists, 16-year-old Dora Schwendtner and 20-year-old Szabolcs Prem, drowned.
The families of the two victims have hired lawyers, Holly Ostrov Ronai, a personal injury attorney from New York, and Philadelphia attorney Robert Mongeluzzi. They are suing the "Ride The Ducks" company and the tug's owner, K-Sea Transportation.
"There's no way that they saw it," said Mongeluzzi of the barge. Mongeluzzi, who made the comment during an interview with the Philadelphia FOX affiliate, said the barge unintentionally ran down the duck boat from behind.
Carrying 35 passengers and two crew, the six-wheeled tourist boat had mechanical problems and its engine stalled.
Keith Holloway, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), says the investigation team wants to know what the five tug crew members saw and heard during the crash, especially whether they heard distress calls that the duck boat crew says were made by Captain Gary Fox.
The NTSB said the duck boat's crew said their radio calls to the tug Caribbean Sea "received no response."
Another issue the NTSB is looking into is whether the tugboat was unable to see the duck boat in the water because of a blind spot.
The National Mariners Association said in its monthly newsletter that the Coast Guard requires lookouts on board tugs or barges in similar situations.