Duck boats to idle in Philly to mark July 7 deaths

PHILADELPHIA – Duck boat tours in Philadelphia will pause for a day next week to mark the July 7 anniversary of a crash that killed two Hungarian students.

The students died when a city barge being pushed by a tug collided last year with a stalled duck boat on the Delaware River.

Federal investigators say the tug pilot was on his cell phone repeatedly before the crash to deal with a family emergency.

Ride the Ducks of Norcross, Ga., says it will suspend operations in Philadelphia to honor the victims.

The families of 16-year-old Dora Schwendtner (SHVENT'-ner) and 20-year-old Szabolcs (ZAB'-ultch) Prem have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the city, the operators of both vessels and others.

The crash also dumped 35 others aboard the tourist boat into the river.