Tour vehicle, charter bus collide on Seattle bridge; 4 dead

A "duck boat" tour vehicle and a charter bus carrying foreign college students have collided on a busy Seattle bridge, killing four people and sending dozens to hospitals.
The collision happened yesterday on the Aurora Avenue bridge, which carries one of the city's main north-south highways over a lake.
At least 12 people were in critical condition, and many others suffered minor injuries, Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said.
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.

A driver who was behind the duck boat said the tour bus and duck boat were headed in opposite directions.
Brad Volm, 23, of Philadelphia, said the amphibious vehicle swerved in front of him. The left front tire of the duck boat appeared to lock up, and then the vehicle swerved into the oncoming charter bus, Volm said.

Witnesses described hearing a loud screech and then seeing injured people lying on the pavement or wandering around in a daze.
Jahna Dyer, a registered nurse, said she was walking across the bridge when she came upon the scene, a mess of jumbled metal and glass. 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 stabilise 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, adding he saw what appeared to be a few dozen people on the ground. "I wanted to try to help. I felt helpless."
When emergency crews arrived, "a lot of people were running at them," pleading for help, Seattle Fire Lt. Sue Stangl said.

The amphibious vehicle is operated by a tour company called Ride the Ducks, which offers tours that are known for exuberant drivers and guides who play loud music and quack through speakers as they lead tourists around the city.
Company President Brian Tracey called the fatal accident "devastating" and told The Seattle Times that the company continually trains and conducts ongoing education classes to ensure safety.