Duck Boat Tour Passengers Describe Crash and Sinking in Delaware River

Kevin Grace, 50, and his friend Alysia Petchulat, 31, thought Philadelphia would be a wonderful learning experience for their respective nine-year-olds, Ruby Grace and Cole Petchulat. But their day of sightseeing and river riding instead became a traumatic experience for the families from suburban St. Louis. The four were passengers on a "Duck Boat" tour that was hit by a barge in the Delaware River on Wednesday, and described the ordeal to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Grace said a full morning of sight-seeing in historic Philadelphia ended sooner than planned and he considered taking an earlier tour. Instead, they had a cheesesteak lunch and arrived early enough to get front row seats on their scheduled tour, which may have helped save their lives.

Grace told the Inquirer that when boat captain Gary Fox explained the safety procedures, "He kind of made a joke out of the life jackets, saying, 'We're not going to need this, but the Coast Guard makes us do this.' But he told us everything you need to know - here they are, and this is how they work." Their land tour proceeded without incident. However, when they entered the water, Grace smelled something burning and saw smoke coming from a panel to the left of the driver's seat. At that point, he said, Fox cut the engine and ordered his deckhand, Kyle Burkhardt, to lay anchor.

Alysia Petchulat said she heard the captain radio the Ride the Ducks office for a tow, three or four times, before he realized the barge was approaching. Petchulat said she then heard Fox say into the radio, "Stop. . . . We are anchored down, and we cannot move. . . . We are right here. Please see us," but Petchulat said the tug never responded.

In the meantime, Grace was texting a friend, "We're floating on a dead duck on the Delaware....," but before he could type in the world "River," turmoil broke out on the boat as people saw the barge approaching. When Petchulat heard the captain say, "This isn't good," she quickly buckled her son into a life vest.

According to Grace, passengers scrambled to the front of the boat and grabbed for life vests in frenzy. Grace managed to grab one for his daughter Ruby. "All in the same motion, I ram the life jacket on her head, push her over, and hold on to her," he said. "Everybody else is doing the same thing. With the impact, everybody rushes forward, metal is screeching." Ruby Grace said she heard a loud crack, "Then the bottom of the boat was sinking, and it just turned, everybody tipped over. I was on the bottom of everyone." Petchulat described being trapped inside the overturned boat, and managing to swim through a window. "I kept swimming and swimming. I kept thinking, 'I've got to be close to the top.'" When she surfaced, she didn't see her son, but then felt something by her feet, moved over and Cole popped up in his life vest.

Ruby Grace described being underwater. "It was cold and looked kind of blurry, but I could see the light, so that was good." She swam to the surface and found her father right beside her. About 30 yards from shore, Kevin Grace had grabbed his daughter by the hair at some point, and then grabbed her hand and tried to keep hold of her. Grace said he knew he needed to get away from this boat before it sank to avoid being sucked down with it. But so quickly did the boat sink, that he felt himself being dragged down. After kicking free, and emerging, he spotted Ruby and swam after her. Grace said it was difficult to swim fully clothed and with shoes on, and he was weighted down by his pocket contents. Grace and his daughter and Petchulat and her son were pulled from the water when two men threw a fire hose out to them, and were taken to the Seaport Museum by police and fire fighters.

Ruby Grace said, "I started thinking into the thought about what just happened. My teeth were chattering, and I couldn't really remember anything that anyone was saying to me." The four were taken to a hospital, checked out and released. They returned to their hotel in Cherry Hill, which they had chosen for the pool, but Ruby was disinclined to use it that night. On Thursday, as they headed to the airport to fly back to St. Louis, Ruby called her mother to say, "Mommy, I'm scarred for life."

Previous Reports: Philadelphia Duck Boat Hit by Barge; Sunken Duck Boat Located in Delaware, Two Still Missing; Body of Duck Boat Crash Victim Recovered from Delaware River; Second Body Spotted; Updates: Second Body and Duck Boat Pulled from Delaware River; Duck Boat Crash - NTSB Interviews Reveal Calls for Help and Alarm Attempts Failed
Source: Philly.com