Judge rules no punitive damages in duck boat crash

Five college students died, and dozens were injured.

  • By Wire Service
  • Saturday, October 7, 2017 3:37pm
  • Northwest

Associated Press

SEATTLE — A judge has ruled that she will not allow for punitive damages in a civil lawsuit over a deadly crash in Seattle involving a duck boat.

KING-TV reported Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer said Friday the case did not meet the high bar for punitive damages, which Washington state typically does not allow.

Punitive damages would go beyond compensating an injured passenger and are meant to punish the defendant for acts that are more than negligent.

Lawyers for tour company Ride The Ducks Seattle and victims of the 2015 Aurora Bridge crash met in court Friday.

Five college students died, and dozens were injured when an axle broke on a Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle and the driver lost control, crashing into a bus carrying North Seattle College international students on the city’s Aurora Bridge in September 2015.

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