Bloodworks Northwest has issued an urgent appeal for blood donors to meet "critical needs" following a fatal crash on Seattle's Aurora Bridge.
Reported by MyNorthwest.com 9 hours ago.
Blood bank seeks donors after fatal Aurora Bridge crash
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Blood bank 'overwhelmed' by donors after fatal Aurora Bridge crash
Bloodworks Northwest has issued an urgent appeal for blood donors to meet "critical needs" following a fatal crash on Seattle's Aurora Bridge.
Reported by MyNorthwest.com 8 hours ago.
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Fatal crash draws questions about Aurora Bridge safety
A fatal collision Thursday morning puts a new spotlight on safety for vehicles crossing the 84-year-old Aurora Avenue Bridge.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 8 hours ago.
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Eyewitness describes fatal bus crash scene
A motorist on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle describes what he saw when a duck boat crashed into a charter bus full of students.
Reported by USATODAY.com 7 hours ago.
Reported by USATODAY.com 7 hours ago.
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'Fun' tour of Seattle turns into nightmare for students
SEATTLE (AP) — A fun day designed to introduce new international college students to Seattle turned into a nightmare when a "duck boat" tour vehicle collided into their charter bus on a busy bridge, killing four students and injuring dozens.Rujia Xie and other North Seattle College students were on their way to the city's iconic Pike Place Market and Safeco Field for new student orientation events Thursday when she heard the crash from the back of the bus.
She smelled gas and felt glass falling on her face. She and others jumped from the bus.
Traveling in the opposite direction, two Philadelphia friends on a road trip across the country, Brad Volm and Bradley Sawhill, were cruising over picturesque Lake Union when they said they saw the duck boat's left tire "lock up" as it swerved into the charter bus, t-boning it. Their SUV hit another truck head-on, but they escaped injuries.
"It all happened so fast. I got out of my car, and there were just bodies, just everywhere. People lying in the street," Volm said.
The amphibious vehicle is operated by a tour company called Ride the Ducks, which offers tours known for exuberant drivers and guides who play loud music and quack through speakers as they lead tourists around the city.
The collision on the Aurora Bridge, which carries one of the city's main north-south highways over the lake, left a tangled mess of twisted metal, shattered glass and blood, witnesses said.
At least 2 people were in critical condition, authorities say 51 people were taken to area hospitals.
A stretch of highway was closed for hours as traffic investigators looked into what happened. The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of 17 people to Seattle, and Mayor Ed Murray said they were taking over the investigation.
There was no immediate word about the cause of the crash, which involved a military-style tour bus that can also be operated on water. Initial reports described the accident as a head-on collision.
Three dozen people were on board the duck boat, as well as the driver, who is certified by the Coast Guard and a licensed commercial driver, company President Brian Tracy said. He said he did not know what happened or caused the crash.
"We will get to the bottom of it," he told The Associated Press. "Our main concern right now is with the families of those hurt and killed."
Murray said the company had voluntarily taken the duck boats off city streets for the time being.
Tourists on board the duck boat told reporters they were snapping pictures when they say they were thrown from the vehicle.
Lying in his hospital bed, Tim Gesner, 61, of Orlando, Florida, told The Seattle Times he was standing in the back of the duck boat and trying to take a picture with his cellphone after their tour guide pointed out the view. He felt the vehicle start to fish-tail, and the driver said, "Oh, no." Gesner looked forward and had a clear view of the duck boat veering left, directly into the bus.
"Then next thing was it's like you see in the movies," he told The Times. "I was floating in this surreal world, like I was in slow motion bouncing off of things and just feeling the pain shooting everywhere and then my face slamming against the seat in front of me and then it was quiet. I just turned and looked, and that's when I saw the carnage."
Murray said efforts were being made to contact consulates because foreign students were on the charter bus. He said they were from different countries.
Witnesses described hearing a loud screech and then seeing injured people lying on the pavement or wandering around in a daze.
Nurse Jahna Dyer was walking across the bridge when she came upon the scene. Some victims were lying on the road. Others milled about, seemingly in shock and falling down.
Dyer jumped a railing separating the sidewalk from the roadway and helped stabilize an injured man's neck. She said she also helped a woman who had a cut lip and glass in her eye. "She was holding my hand and saying thank you," she said.
John Mundell said he was at the south end of the bridge when the crash occurred. "We could hear the screech and twisted metal. It was surreal," he said. "I felt helpless."
When emergency crews arrived, "a lot of people were running at them," pleading for help, Seattle Fire Lt. Sue Stangl said.
North Seattle College spokeswoman Melissa Mixon said 45 students and staff with the school's international programs were on one of two charter buses on their way to downtown Seattle. "It was to be a fun introduction to Seattle," she said.
Kuen Shouh Wu says his 18-year-old daughter was on the charter bus, but she was not hurt. He and his daughter, Ming Chao Wu, are from Taiwan, and he is a visiting scholar at the University of Washington. Wu said when he learned of the accident, he came to the school.
"I was scared," he said. "I don't know why it happened."
The safety of the amphibious boats has been questioned before. In 2010, a tugboat-guided barge plowed into a duck boat packed with tourists that had stalled in the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
The crash sank the duck boat and sent all 37 people aboard into the river. Two Hungarian students, who were visiting the U.S. through a church exchange program, never resurfaced. Their families received a settlement totaling $15 million after filing wrongful-death lawsuits against the tugboat and tour boat owners.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 4 hours ago.
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4 Dead, 44 Injured After Seattle Duck Boat Collides With Tour Bus
What an absolute tragedy. Dozens of tourists were sightseeing in Seattle on Thursday morning when a freak accident caused a duck boat to crash into a tour bus killing four and critically injuring a further 44. Witnesses say an amphibious vehicle was merging into the left lane on the Aurora Bridge at about 11 a.m., when a [...]
Reported by Perez Hilton 4 hours ago.
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4 international students killed in Seattle bus, 'duck boat' crash
SEATTLE -- A "duck boat" tour vehicle and a charter bus carrying foreign students to a college orientation event collided on a busy Seattle bridge Thursday, killing four students and injuring dozens of others. The crash happened on the Aurora...
Reported by nola.com 5 hours ago.
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Duck rider heard ‘Oh, no!’ before Aurora Bridge crash that killed 4
As a Ride the Ducks vehicle crossed the Aurora Bridge late Thursday morning, the driver told passengers it was their best chance to photograph Lake Union. Standing in the aisle, Tim Gesner had time to snap a single shot before the rear of the vehicle started to fishtail. “And just at that moment,” Gesner said, […]
Reported by Seattle Times 3 hours ago.
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Span’s narrow lanes a longtime safety concern
Motorists commonly think the Aurora Bridge is unsafe, and the history shows many questions.
Reported by Seattle Times 4 hours ago.
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Photo: Bus and 'Ride The Ducks' vehicle removed from Aurora Bridge in Seattle - @HeatherGrafK5
Reported by Breaking News 2 hours ago.
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Aurora Bridge in Seattle reopens to traffic after bus collision - @KING5Seattle
Reported by Breaking News 2 hours ago.
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Four Students Die After Duck Boat and Bus Crash in Seattle
The charter bus was carrying students and staff of the North Seattle College international program when it was struck on the Aurora Bridge.
Reported by msnbc.com 19 hours ago.
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This nine year-old wants to meet Francis – oh, and be pope someday too
Denver, Colo., Sep 25, 2015 / 04:03 am (CNA).- Ever since he started attending Catholic schools three years ago, nine year-old Parker Langdon has wanted to be a priest.
“He asked my mom to make him vestments, and he’d set up the altar, and get cups, and he wanted hosts, so he’s loved to do that with his cousins and for the neighbors,” said his mother, Jordan Langdon.
When he’s visiting his grandparents, Parker also likes to invite people over and “say Mass” and give homilies, she said.
Oh, and Lincoln, his three year-old brother?
“He’s ‘Deacon Lincoln,’” said his father, Josh Parker.
“It’s been quite a surprise to us and very touching, and something he’s maintained an interest in, so we want to support his interests as far as we can,” Jordan added.
(Parker and his mother, Jordan Langdon. Credit: CNA).
So when the Langdon’s found out about Pope Francis’ trip to the United States, they shared the news with their son.
“My dad told me about how he was going to come, and he asked me if I wanted to go and I said yeah!” Parker recalled. “But then I found out I had to raise the money, which I thought it was going to be a little hard. But it was sort of hard and sort of easy.”
The Langdon family put their heads together and formed a committee to raise the money – more than $3,000 – that would be necessary to send Parker and an accompanying parent to the World Meeting of Families trip with the Archdiocese of Denver, which concludes with Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia.
Parker was the committee head, Dad was treasurer – “He’s good with charts”, said Parker, and Mom was secretary – “She helped to do stuff like write out things and all the stuff for us to get ready for the trip.”
“I had to write out an agenda, because we had our own little meetings to communicate with each other to see what was going to happen,” Parker said.
He also drafted a letter to send out to friends and family, asking for donations for his trip:
It was slow going at first. The letters didn’t come pouring back right away like Parker had expected.
“My first donation was from me, and so I had $57 at the time, so I put that toward the trip, so I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he said. “But once I started getting money and getting letters, I thought ok we’re making progress here.”
At first, Josh and Jordan were nervous about what would happen if Parker couldn’t raise all the money. They started coming up with contingency plans for making up the difference.
But once the word spread, the campaign gained some serious traction. The whole project became a lesson in gratitude and generosity for the Langdon family, Josh said.
“I was having a network meeting with another business man who’d never met Parker,” Josh said. “We were at lunch just talking about (the trip), and towards the end of lunch he just slid $200 in cash across the table and said, ‘Tell Parker to have a great time.’”
Josh said the people of their parish, Our Lady of Loretto in Aurora, Colo., including Knights of Columbus Council 12336 and the Men of Faith group, have been overwhelmingly supportive and generous.
Handwritten thank-you notes were sent to each donor, as well as a promise of gifts from the trip.
Once the funds were raised and the trip was a clear “go”, the Langdons began preparing in other ways.
Nine days before the trip, they began praying the Divine Mercy novena, and getting their packing lists together.
“Parker’s thinking about snacks, of course,” said Jordan, “He’s packing a backpack full of beef jerky.”
And his binoculars, for prime papal viewing.
They’ve also been preparing to travel with a group that’s quite a bit older.
“There’s one other family that has a few kids going, and then everyone else is quite a bit older,” Jordan said. “So Parker and I have been talking about preparing ourselves mentally for what that means to go on a pilgrimage with people that are older, and that we might have some sacrifices to make and help them along the way.”
During the trip, Jordan said she’s looking forward to seeing Pope Francis in person and to watching Parker’s reaction to seeing the Pope.
Parker said, besides the plane rides, he’s most excited for the Papal Mass and seeing Pope Francis in action.
“I really want to be the Pope someday, I kind of want to be a priest, so I thought maybe I could see him, see what kind of things he does.” Reported by CNA 22 hours ago.
“He asked my mom to make him vestments, and he’d set up the altar, and get cups, and he wanted hosts, so he’s loved to do that with his cousins and for the neighbors,” said his mother, Jordan Langdon.
When he’s visiting his grandparents, Parker also likes to invite people over and “say Mass” and give homilies, she said.
Oh, and Lincoln, his three year-old brother?
“He’s ‘Deacon Lincoln,’” said his father, Josh Parker.
“It’s been quite a surprise to us and very touching, and something he’s maintained an interest in, so we want to support his interests as far as we can,” Jordan added.
(Parker and his mother, Jordan Langdon. Credit: CNA).
So when the Langdon’s found out about Pope Francis’ trip to the United States, they shared the news with their son.
“My dad told me about how he was going to come, and he asked me if I wanted to go and I said yeah!” Parker recalled. “But then I found out I had to raise the money, which I thought it was going to be a little hard. But it was sort of hard and sort of easy.”
The Langdon family put their heads together and formed a committee to raise the money – more than $3,000 – that would be necessary to send Parker and an accompanying parent to the World Meeting of Families trip with the Archdiocese of Denver, which concludes with Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia.
Parker was the committee head, Dad was treasurer – “He’s good with charts”, said Parker, and Mom was secretary – “She helped to do stuff like write out things and all the stuff for us to get ready for the trip.”
“I had to write out an agenda, because we had our own little meetings to communicate with each other to see what was going to happen,” Parker said.
He also drafted a letter to send out to friends and family, asking for donations for his trip:
It was slow going at first. The letters didn’t come pouring back right away like Parker had expected.
“My first donation was from me, and so I had $57 at the time, so I put that toward the trip, so I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he said. “But once I started getting money and getting letters, I thought ok we’re making progress here.”
At first, Josh and Jordan were nervous about what would happen if Parker couldn’t raise all the money. They started coming up with contingency plans for making up the difference.
But once the word spread, the campaign gained some serious traction. The whole project became a lesson in gratitude and generosity for the Langdon family, Josh said.
“I was having a network meeting with another business man who’d never met Parker,” Josh said. “We were at lunch just talking about (the trip), and towards the end of lunch he just slid $200 in cash across the table and said, ‘Tell Parker to have a great time.’”
Josh said the people of their parish, Our Lady of Loretto in Aurora, Colo., including Knights of Columbus Council 12336 and the Men of Faith group, have been overwhelmingly supportive and generous.
Handwritten thank-you notes were sent to each donor, as well as a promise of gifts from the trip.
Once the funds were raised and the trip was a clear “go”, the Langdons began preparing in other ways.
Nine days before the trip, they began praying the Divine Mercy novena, and getting their packing lists together.
“Parker’s thinking about snacks, of course,” said Jordan, “He’s packing a backpack full of beef jerky.”
And his binoculars, for prime papal viewing.
They’ve also been preparing to travel with a group that’s quite a bit older.
“There’s one other family that has a few kids going, and then everyone else is quite a bit older,” Jordan said. “So Parker and I have been talking about preparing ourselves mentally for what that means to go on a pilgrimage with people that are older, and that we might have some sacrifices to make and help them along the way.”
During the trip, Jordan said she’s looking forward to seeing Pope Francis in person and to watching Parker’s reaction to seeing the Pope.
Parker said, besides the plane rides, he’s most excited for the Papal Mass and seeing Pope Francis in action.
“I really want to be the Pope someday, I kind of want to be a priest, so I thought maybe I could see him, see what kind of things he does.” Reported by CNA 22 hours ago.
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Aurora Bridge open for Friday-morning commute
The Aurora Bridge is open in both directions Friday morning, following Thursday’s deadly collision between a Ride the Ducks tour vehicle and a charter bus
Reported by Seattle Times 20 hours ago.
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17-year-old victim of Aurora Bridge collision still critical
Harborview Medical Center is treating 15 patients, including a 17-year-old girl in critical condition, injured in the collision between a Ride the Ducks vehicle and a bus that killed four.
Reported by Seattle Times 18 hours ago.
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Amphibious tour vehicle, bus crash raises safety concerns
SEATTLE (AP) — The so-called duck boat was ferrying tourists across a crowded Seattle bridge when, suddenly, the amphibious vehicle swerved into an oncoming charter bus carrying foreign exchange students on their way to an orientation event. The resulting crash killed four people, injured dozens of others and raised safety questions about the distinctive former military vehicles popular with tour groups across the country. Traveling in the opposite direction, two Philadelphia friends on a road trip across the country, Brad Volm and Bradley Sawhill, were cruising over picturesque Lake Union when they said they saw the duck boat's left tire "lock up" as it swerved into the charter bus, T-boning it. The amphibious vehicle is operated by a tour company called Ride the Ducks, which offers tours known for exuberant drivers and guides who play loud music and quack through speakers as they lead tourists around the city. The collision on the Aurora Bridge, which carries one of the city's main north-south highways over the lake, left a tangled mess of twisted metal, shattered glass and blood, witnesses said. Three dozen people were on board the duck boat, as well as the driver, who is certified by the Coast Guard and a licensed commercial driver, company President Brian Tracey said. Witnesses described hearing a loud screech and then seeing injured people lying on the pavement or wandering around in a daze.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 18 hours ago.
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Kroll Bond Rating Agency Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Aurora Master Funding, LLC, Series 2015-1
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns preliminary ratings to two classes of notes from Aurora Master Funding, LLC, Series 2015-1, a residential and commercial distributed generation solar securitization. This transaction is AES Distributed Energy, Inc.’s (“AES DE”) inaugural securitization. Aurora Master Funding, LLC (the “Issuer”) will issue Solar Revenue Notes, Series 2015-1 Class A (the “Class A Notes”) and Series 2015-1, Class B (the “Class B Notes”, and togethe
Reported by Business Wire 16 hours ago.
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Investigators begin probe of deadly Aurora Bridge crash
State transportation inspectors have begun their investigation into the deadly Aurora Bridge crash, and more than a dozen NTSB investigators are on their way to Seattle.
Reported by Seattle Times 14 hours ago.
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Live: Seattle city leaders talk about Ride the Ducks crash on Aurora Bridge
Reported by SeattlePI.com 15 hours ago.
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Information for families of those hurt in Aurora Bridge crash
An information line has been set up for families of those hurt and killed in Thursday's charter bus crash on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. Here or abroad, those looking for information about their loved ones can call 206-461-3200.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 15 hours ago.
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