Editor's note: The video above is from September 2019, when Eric Bishop, who was driving the Ride the Ducks vehicle when it crashed in 2015, spoke for the first time about the deadly crash.
SEATTLE - Ride the Ducks of Seattle closed and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Legal issues stemming from the deadly crash on the Aurora Bridge in 2015 that killed five people and left several others injured were "too much for the company to overcome," according to a statement on the company's website.
Ride the Ducks of Seattle said in the statement it has worked to hold the manufacturer of the amphibious vehicle involved in the crash accountable. Though the company believes it "will be successful, it will come too late."
Ride the Ducks of Seattle sued its parent company, saying the parent company knew of a defect in the vehicles used for sightseeing tours but didn't disclose the information.
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the company's decision to close.
On September 24, 2015, Ride the Ducks of Seattle was operating a Stretch Duck with the defect when the left front axle housing failed, causing the crash on the Aurora Bridge, according to the lawsuit.
The National Transporation Safety Board investigated the crash and found that the duck boat involved didn't have the axle repair that was recommended in 2013.
Since the crash, Ride the Ducks faced more than a dozen lawsuits. In June 2019, a woman from Montana was awarded $4 million in damages in what was believed to be the final lawsuit after years of litigation. Jurors assigned 60% of the liability to Ride the Ducks International, with the remaining 40% to the Seattle Ducks, while blaming both for the mechanical problems that led the Duck to lose control.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not involve a repayment plan like Chapter 13 bankruptcy, instead allowing the trustee to gather and sell the debtor's nonexempt assets, using the proceeds to pay creditors.