Philly duck boats idle on anniversary of accident

PHILADELPHIA – Ducks boats will be idle for the day in Philadelphia to mark the one-year anniversary of an accident that killed two Hungarian tourists.

Ride the Ducks of Norcross, Ga., has suspended operations in Philadelphia on Thursday to honor the victims of the July 7, 2010, accident.

The two students, 16-year-old Dora Schwendtner (SHVENT'-ner) and 20-year-old Szabolcs (ZAB'-ultch) Prem, died when a city barge being pushed by a tug collided with a stalled duck boat on the Delaware River. The crash also dumped 35 others aboard the boat into the river.

The victims' families have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the city, the operators of both vessels and others. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the mate piloting the barge had been on his cell phone dealing with a family emergency.