A young woman, Allison Warmuth, was killed when the motorized scooter she was driving Saturday afternoon collided with a duck boat on Beacon Hill.
Warmuth's employer, American International Group, confirmed her identity and said in a statement: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague Allison Warmuth. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Allison's family and all who were closest to her."
The male passenger on the scooter only suffered minor injuries and no one on the tour was injured. Police are still investigating the accident, but so far no charges have been brought against the tour driver.
In the last five years there have been several deadly duck boat accidents across the country, but this is a first for the Boston company that started tours in the city.
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Attorney Robert Mongeluzzi says it's a tragedy that could have been avoided and he's asking duck boats be banned across the country.
"This proves again that duck boats are dangerous on land and on water," he said.
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Mongeluzzi represented the families of victims in two deadly accidents in Philadelphia. In 2010, two tourists drowned after a disabled "Ride the Ducks" boat was run down by a barge. Last year, a woman from Texas was hit and killed by also by a "Ride the Ducks" boat while crossing a street in Philadelphia.
"These were designed in WW2 to invade other countries from the sea they were not designed to be driven on streets where you have pedestrians and cars," said Mongeluzzi.
Joe Garcia is visiting from Seattle where last year five people were killed when a "Ride the Ducks" boat veered into a charter bus on a bridge. He supports the tours. "I think they're great for tourists but accidents happen, it's unfortunate but I think they should be around," said Garcia.
Boston Duck Tours operates the "Penelope Pru," the duck boat involved in Saturday's deadly collision. They have been in business since 1994 and this is the first time they've been involved in a deadly accident.
"I think they are iconic and a great part of the city," said Andrea Vinson of Rockport. "It's just so much fun to go through the city and then go right into the Charles in a vehicle... It doesn't get more fun than that."
The CEO of Boston Duck Tours says they are waiting for more details about what happened on Beacon Street before commenting further.
