'Ride the Ducks' owner agrees to never use Aurora Bridge again

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Attorneys for a Seattle tour company involved in a deadly crash say there will be full cooperation into the accident that killed five people last week, and said that if ultimately returned to the road, the boats will no longer use the bridge that was the site of the crash.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission held a brief hearing on Thursday morning to give attorneys for Ride the Ducks of Seattle an opportunity to speak to the commission, just days after it suspended operations of the repurposed military "duck boats" until an investigation by commission staff was completed.

Duck officials promised never to use the Aurora Bridge again, if the duck vehicles were allowed back on the road.





The UTC heard the details of the complaint during the preliminary hearing.

Four international college students died at the scene of the Sept. 24 crash, and a fifth - a 20-year-old woman - died Sunday.

They were among about 45 students and staff from North Seattle College who were on the charter bus when the tourist-carrying duck boat swerved into it on the Aurora Bridge, a six-lane span with no median barrier.