The amphibious tour company known as Ride the Ducks may, yet again, find itself as the focus of controversy. Months after being allowed to operate again after a fatal crash last September, a duck forcefully collided with a red Toyota on Fifth and Mercer. According to witnesses, the vehicle was dragged for several feet by the Duck, whose driver seemed initially unaware that he hit a vehicle.
The Toyota was driven by an elderly man from Sequim, on his way to visit his wife in the hospital. He was alone in the vehicle. Immediately after the collision, he was able to exit the car from the passenger side door on his own – the Duck had impacted the driver side, and was square against its door when it started. Although dazed, he eventually left the scene under his own power. No one aboard the duck was injured. A Ride the Ducks spokesperson has claimed the elderly driver was at fault.


According to Goodfriend, the driver could be heard yelling, "What happened? What happened?"
"He really couldn't see the car," said Goodfriend's husband David Fullarton.
"We're bike commuters and that scares me, that you can't see that there was a car coming on the outside of you," said Goodfriend. "That seems like a bad situation. So whether the older man crossed out of his lane or whatever, the fact that [the duck driver] couldn't see anything seems bad."
According to a statement from Ride the Duck's spokesperson Annie Alley, the Duck driver was not cited for the crash. "The Duck vehicle was making a left turn from Mercer onto 5th Avenue, with a green arrow and had the right-of-way," said the statement. "Eyewitness accounts indicate the other driver was attempting to make an illegal left turn. All mechanical systems on the Duck operated normally, allowing it to stop quickly and avoid injury."
Seattle Fire and Police crews arrived at the scene about ten minutes after the accident. The scene was mostly cleared within the hour.