Five international students died when a Seattle Ride the Ducks boat crashed into their tour bus on the Aurora Bridge in 2015. Thursday, a jury in the Ride the Ducks civil trial heard testimony from the family members one of those victims.
Claudia Derschmidt, 49, was a mother of two who had moved to Seattle from Austria with her 15-year-old son, Felix, shortly before the deadly crash.
"We always got along so well," Felix Derschmidt testified through an interpreter. "I could trust her with everything. I could tell her everything."
Claudia was one of the North Seattle College students riding on the tour bus who died in the collision. Her older son, 22-year-old Moritz Derschmidt, remembered the last time they spoke over Skype.
"It just was moments before she got on the bus," Moritz told the jury. "We had a very nice conversation. I am very happy we got to speak once more.”
Felix, who texted with his mom frequently, testified he knew something was wrong when she didn't answer the day of the crash.
He says the wait was agonizing after hearing about the crash. Felix remembered how he and a friend walked around Greenlake to pass the time. It wasn't until hours later that he received official word.
"We were walking and crying. We told ourselves it can't be true. It can't be happening," Felix said.
What Felix feared became a reality. The crash left two teenage boys without their mom.
"She will not be there for my life events," said Moritz. "She won't be there if I get married on my wedding day. She doesn't get to know my girlfriend that I have now. It's hard to say. I miss her every day."
