4 Dead, Dozens Injured in Crash Of Seattle Tour Vehicles

Four people were killed and dozens injured when one of Seattle’s Ride the Ducks amphibious tour vehicles collided with a charter bus on the Aurora Bridge on Thursday, fire officials said.

Four people were killed, Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said in a news briefing Thursday afternoon.

“We’ve had a terrible tragedy,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said during the briefing. “There’s been a terrible loss of life.”

Earlier in the day, Fire Lt. Sue Stengl told reporters that police were not sure how the crash occurred. Scoggins said the crash happened shortly before 11:30 a.m.

At least 50 people were extricated from the damaged vehicles and evaluated for injuries, according to Stengl, who said two passenger vehicles also were involved in the crash.

The Aurora Bridge, which spans Lake Union and connects the city’s Queen Anne and Fremont neighborhoods, is to be closed for several hours.

According to Ride the Ducks’ website, the company has been operating its DUKW vehicles, nicknamed “ducks,” since 1997. The vehicles can traverse land or sea, and they came to prominence during World War II, when they were used to move items from offshore supply ships to military units on land.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the September 25th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.