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One year later there are a few stories in my google news feed. I'm glad to see at least 3 people have been federally charged because they prioritized profits over safety even though there were warnings that the severe storm was coming.
The 3 that have been charged so far are Curtis P. Lanham, who was the general manager of Ride the Ducks Branson; Charles V. Baltzell, who was the company's operations supervisor; and Kenneth McKee who was the duck boat captain. In addition to federal charges, they each got 13 misdemeanor charges for each of the passengers that survived.
Many of the survivors and families of the victims have brought law suites against Ripley Entertainment in civil court. Some have settled, some are still pending.
McKee is charged with 17 counts of misconduct and negligence by a vessel captain, resulting in the death of another person.
Baltzell is charged with 17 counts of aiding and abetting misconduct and negligence by a vessel captain, resulting in the death of another person.
Lanham is charged with 17 felony counts of misconduct and neglect by an executive officer of the corporate charterer/owner.
Baltzell, Lanham and McKee are also facing 13 misdemeanor charges of recklessly operating a vessel for the 13 passengers who survived the duck boat sinking.
The U.S. attorney said in a news release that Curtis P. Lanham, 36, of Galena, Missouri, and Charles V. Baltzell, 76, of Kirbyville, Missouri, were charged in a 47-count superseding indictment on June 13, which was unsealed Thursday.
Among those reaching a settlement was Tia Coleman, an Indianapolis woman who survived the duck boat sinking but lost nine other family members in the tragedy.
Ripley is negotiating with six other claimants and has another set for mediation on July 15. There’s another seven claims that have not been scheduled for mediation, according to the filing.
In all, 33 claims were made against the company.
In the next article which has much too much to quote; Jennie Carr, the woman that filmed the duck boat battling the waves. saw not only the best but also the absolute worst in people after her video made the news. Once the news media started sharing her video, she got a bunch angry messages and comments from people that thought she was insensitive to take video of the duck boat and that she should have done something to help instead.
In the end, it was due to her video that helped federal investigators investigate the case. It's also helped the U.S. Attorney's Office to bring criminal charges against the employees that have been charged as well as the big one, provided evidence for the victims to sue the company.
I know I watched her video a handful of times if not more.
Three employees of Ripley Entertainment, which ran the Ride the Ducks operation in Branson, have been indicted on federal charges amid allegations they ignored weather warnings and prioritized profits over safety. A bevy of civil lawsuits against the duck boat operators are also making their way through the court system.
In other news, the Ride The Ducks building will be re-purposed. The company has made sure to get community approval before starting the project. They plan to give back to the community and 1st responders by donating 10% of all proceeds to 1st responders, (police, fire and EMS) with a minimum amount of $100,000. They're also giving discounts to 1st responders and military. They wanted to make sure jobs were kept in the community; some employees from Ride The Ducks will also be employed there.
Branson Top Ops will take its place at 2320 W. Missouri 76, said Suzanne Smagala-Potts, Ripley Entertainment Inc. public relations manager.
Branson Top Ops will have a patriotic theme, along with an interactive outdoor maze, an indoor laser tag, retail space and other experiences, Smagala-Potts said.
Status:
"This too shall pass. But possibly, like a kidney stone."
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This tragedy was reminiscent of the very similar Duck Boat tragedy that happened in Lake Hamilton Arkansas 20 years prior.
13 people drowned right off the **** of the Walk restaurant, where diners on the patio dove into the water to save people. It was yards from the shore, yards from the restaurant decking. It happened right there, so close, and yet so many died.
The problem with a duck boat is the awnings. When the boat goes down, it doesn't even matter if you're wearing a life vest. When the boat goes down, the awnings hold passengers under the water and in the dark - they can't figure out where they need to go to surface.
Awful. If you're wearing a life vest, they're more likely to be able to locate your body after you've drowned.
The frequency of videos annoy many of us much of the time. Maybe we need to remind ourselves that were it not for some of the videos, there would have been no solid evidence to convict the guilty. Rodney King comes to mind first and foremost. If the cameraman had dropped the camera and "gone to help" the man instead? Yeah, right.
I guess we could consider the videos a double-edged sword?
Being trapped like a rat on a sinking ship is a horrible way to die. I hope the charges don't get plea-bargained down to nothing.
The frequency of videos annoy many of us much of the time. Maybe we need to remind ourselves that were it not for some of the videos, there would have been no solid evidence to convict the guilty. Rodney King comes to mind first and foremost. If the cameraman had dropped the camera and "gone to help" the man instead? Yeah, right.
I guess we could consider the videos a double-edged sword?
Being trapped like a rat on a sinking ship is a horrible way to die. I hope the charges don't get plea-bargained down to nothing.
Me too! I'll be shocked if they do because this case is so public
Me too! I'll be shocked if they do because this case is so public
That's because of the video. It made us witness the horror rather than read about it. It sealed the images in our mind.
Were it not for the video we'd probably have forgotten about it by now.
That's because of the video. It made us witness the horror rather than read about it. It sealed the images in our mind.
Were it not for the video we'd probably have forgotten about it by now.
You're right, the video was horrifying. That's one of my biggest fears, drowning. I'm sick just thinking about what the people went thru trying to get out of that death trap.
"she got a bunch angry messages and comments from people that thought she was insensitive to take video of the duck boat and that she should have done something to help instead."
How utterly absurd. What did they expect her to do - drop the camera, dive into the water, swim to the boat and push it to shore? What lunatic would think she could have done anything to help?
I think this tragedy is a direct consequence of our societal refusal to discriminate based on weight. People are counted as one adult no matter if they weigh 400 lbs or 100 lbs. Most of the passengers (the family that died in particular) were over twice the weight of an average adult. While the captain should have paid closer attention to the weather, if he had gone by the weight of each passenger instead of loading up every seat with morbidly obese passengers which more than doubled the weight capacity of the vessel he would have been fine. The other boat wasn't so loaded down, and they made it out.
I think the charges are a bit unfair, and what needs to change is how society treats passenger weights when it comes to any sort of travel. Being politically correct can be deadly, as this incident shows.
Last edited by winston196; 07-13-2019 at 11:16 AM..
"she got a bunch angry messages and comments from people that thought she was insensitive to take video of the duck boat and that she should have done something to help instead."
How utterly absurd. What did they expect her to do - drop the camera, dive into the water, swim to the boat and push it to shore? What lunatic would think she could have done anything to help?
I think this tragedy is a direct consequence of our societal refusal to discriminate based on weight. People are counted as one adult no matter if they weigh 400 lbs or 100 lbs. Most of the passengers (the family that died in particular) were over twice the weight of an average adult. While the captain should have paid closer attention to the weather, if he had gone by the weight of each passenger instead of loading up every seat with morbidly obese passengers which more than doubled the weight capacity of the vessel he would have been fine. The other boat wasn't so loaded down, and they made it out.
I think the charges are a bit unfair, and what needs to change is how society treats passenger weights when it comes to any sort of travel. Being politically correct can be deadly, as this incident shows.
I thought the other duck boat that made it back in was driving closer to the shore as soon as the bad weather started.
I don't recall what the family looked like; but you're right, if people are over weight, they really should be taken into account that the one person may be the size as 2 or even 3 normal weight people. Maybe they should have gone on their own duck boat. Still, the captain was negligent for not flagging them if they were that over-weight.
I thought the other duck boat that made it back in was driving closer to the shore as soon as the bad weather started.
I don't recall what the family looked like; but you're right, if people are over weight, they really should be taken into account that the one person may be the size as 2 or even 3 normal weight people. Maybe they should have gone on their own duck boat. Still, the captain was negligent for not flagging them if they were that over-weight.
You can see in the video the other boat motoring past the one that went down. Both boats, which were identical, faced the same conditions the only difference was that the one that made it out wasn't so overloaded. The pics from inside the boat shown at the time of the incident (I'm sure you can find them with a google search) showed most of the passengers were morbidly obese, the members of the large family that died were very very overweight, and every seat was filled. The focus has always been on the boat itself and the captain's mistake to take it in the water with a storm coming, but the real reason it went down was that it was grossly overloaded.
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