New video of duck boat crash released

PHILADELPHIA - May 1, 2012 (WPVI) -- New video was released Tuesday showing the deadly duck boat accident on the Delaware River in July of 2010.

In the newly released video, attorneys for families of the two victims who died say it shows the mate on the duck boat jump off the vessel moments before the barge comes crashing into it.

Plaintiff Attorney Robert Mongaluzzi says passengers had no time to don life jackets.

"You can see the people inside....nobody has had the opportunity to put their life preserver on," Mongaluzzi said.

Mongaluzzi blames the duck boat captain Gary Fox who he says did not ask for help from other vessels and wasted more than 11 minutes, precious time the passengers could've used to put on their life preservers.

He says Dora Schwendtner, 20, and Szabolcs Prem, 16, didn't die from the impact, but rather drowned.

"The way this duck boat was designed, once you turned off ignition when you have a suspected fire your radio and your air horn didn't work," Mongaluzzi said.

Mongaluzzi also argues K-Sea Transportation, owner of the tugboat, failed to train employees and implement policies to prevent the crash.

He will be in Federal Court Monday trying to convince a judge the case doesn't fall under an 1851 Maritime limitation of liability law that limits liability to the value of the three vessels involved, estimated at $1.8-million.

"The defendants are trying to prove that these children's lives should be equal to the value of their broken down vessels," Mongaluzzi said.

A spokesperson for K-Sea Transportation and the parent company of Ride the Ducks had no comment citing the pending litigation.

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