3 charged in fatal 2018 Mo. duck boat accident
A local prosecutor charged a boat captain and two other employees Friday over 17 deaths in July 2018 when a tourist duck boat sank on a Missouri lake during a severe thunderstorm, reviving the threat of long prison sentences seven months after federal charges against them were dismissed.
The total of 63 felony charges were filed in Stone County against the captain, the general manager and the manager on duty the day of the accident for the Ride the Ducks attraction on Table Rock Lake near the tourist mecca of Branson, in southwestern Missouri.
Capt.in Kenneth Scott McKee, of Verona, general manager Curtis Lanham, of Galena, and manager on duty Charles Baltzell, of Kirbyville, were charged after a federal judge dismissed earlier charges filed by federal prosecutors, concluding they did not have jurisdiction.
Among the dead were nine members of a family from Indianapolis and victims from Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.
The tragedy led to a number of similar amphibious vehicle tours across the country being discontinued, including Pittsburgh’s Just Ducky Tours, based in Station Square, which operated for 22 years.
Tia Coleman, a member of that Indianapolis family who lost her husband and three children, said in a statement that her “prayers had been answered” with the charges.
“I’m so hopeful that we are one major step closer to justice for all those that perished, and to preventing that what happened to them from ever happening again,” Ms. Coleman said.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, whose office will assist with the prosecution, and County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Selby announced the charges.
“The victims deserve justice,” Mr. Schmitt said in a statement.
Mr. McKee, 54, faces 29 charges, including 17 charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. The 12 additional charges allege that he endangered child passengers on the boat, five of whom died.
The child-endangerment charges filed over the deaths are the most serious, punishable by between 10 and 30 years in prison. The endangerment charges involving children who survived the accident carry a sentence of up to seven years.
An affidavit from a Missouri Highway Patrol sergeant accuses Mr. McKee of failing to exercise his duties as a licensed captain by taking his amphibious vehicle onto the lake during a thunderstorm.
“We are reviewing the charges, expect not-guilty pleas will be entered and will continue to vigorously represent Mr. McKee,” J.R. Hobbs and Marilyn B. Keller, who represent the captain, said in a statement.
Mr. Baltzell, 79, and Mr. Lanham, 39, face 17 charges each of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. They are accused of failing to communicate weather conditions and to cease operations during a severe thunderstorm warning.
Each manslaughter charge alleges that the men “recklessly caused” the death of a passenger. Missouri law calls for a prison sentence of between three years and 10 years for a conviction on that charge.
Thirty-one people were aboard the duck boat. A storm came up suddenly and the waves swamped the boat before it could make it back to shore. Fourteen people survived.
Rides in the modified former World War II vehicles were a popular draw in the Branson area. Ripley Entertainment, which owned vehicle, settled 31 lawsuits related to the accident.
Video and audio from the boat, recovered by divers, showed that the lake was calm when the boat entered the water. But the weather suddenly turned violent. Within minutes, the boat sank.
Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Green said in his affidavit that Mr. McKee failed to exercise his duties and responsibilities by going onto the lake with the boat, Stretch Boat 7, with a severe thunderstorm warning in effect. He said Mr. McKee failed to follow policies or training guidelines and failed to have the boat’s passengers put on life vests as it took on water.
Andrew Duffy, an attorney representing Ms. Coleman and others who sued over the accident, said Mr. McKee “did just about everything wrong” and evidence shows the duck boat’s operators were trying to beat the storm to avoid having to give refunds.
The wind speed at the time of the accident was more than 70 mph, just short of hurricane force, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Weather forecasts had warned of an impending storm with winds possibly exceeding 60 mph.
A U.S. Coast Guard certificate of inspection for the boat issued in February 2017 stated that it “shall not be operated waterborne” when winds exceed 35 mph and/or wave heights exceed 2 feet.
“There is no question that this duck boat tour should have been canceled and the little over $900 refund should have been made,” Mr. Duffy said in an interview. “The fact that that wasn’t done is just outrageous.”
Less than a year after the accident, Michael Cohen, who started Just Ducky Tours with a friend in 1997, discontinued the business, despite his contention that his boats were annually inspected, certified by the U.S. Coast Guard for safety, and carried 30 life jackets for adults and 30 for children.
“We are never more than 250 feet from shore,” Mr. Cohen said at the time of the vehicles that bobbed on Pittsburgh’s three rivers and cruised down the streets Downtown and on the North Shore. “We never put passengers in harm’s way.”
Mr. Cohen said he learned in January 2019 that “our insurance company would not renew us. We had a very clean lossrun history. It didn’t matter. The insurance companies got spooked.”
Thecost of his insurance would have involved a premium increase of 120%.
“If that accident had never happened, we would be operating today,” he said.