Duck boat strikes, kills woman in Chinatown [updated]

A Ride the Ducks tourist boat struck and killed a woman crossing the street at 11th and Arch in Chinatown Friday afternoon.

Chief Inspector Scott Small with the Philadelphia Police Department said the 68-year-old woman was crossing the street behind her husband when she was struck by the duck boat and trapped beneath it.

Police say she was pronounced dead at the scene about 5:30 p.m. from severe head trauma and massive bodily injuries.

“The duck boat literally ran her over,” said Small.

Police say witnesses report the duck boat, an amphibious vehicle, had a steady green light when it proceeded through the intersection going west on Arch Street.

Police say they will interview all 28 passengers, the driver and a tour guide who were aboard the duck boat, as well as the victim’s husband and passengers on another tourist bus. No other injuries were reported.

Police also intend to check security cameras at the Wawa and at the Hilton Garden Inn at the intersection.

The duck boats are a popular way for tourists to see the sights of Philadelphia by land and water.

In July 2010, a tug pilot talking on a cellphone steered a huge barge into a duck boat on the Delaware River, killing two tourists. A jury ordered the Ride the Ducks organization to pay $15 million in 2012 to the families of two Hungarian students who died.