BOSTON --
Five people suffered injuries Friday in a duck boat crash in downtown Boston when a piece of equipment on the duck boat got lodged under the brake pedal.
Seven vehicles and the duck boat "Dorchester Dottie" were involved in a crash on Charles Circle shortly after noon.
A radio that was on the boat became dislodged and rolled under the brake pedal of the duck boat, according to Boston Duck Tour General Manager Cindy Brown.
"A piece of equipment lodged behind the brake pedal, blocking the brake from working. The brakes did end up working fine once it was cleared. It wasn't that the brakes failed," Brown said.
The passengers who were on the duck boat at the time boarded another duck boat and continued with their tour.
"We are going to reinspect the ducks. We'll find a more secure way to mount (the radios)," Brown said.
The victims' injuries were described as minor. Marjorie Ross, of Springfield, said she and her daughter were in a car on the ramp when the car was struck by the duck boat, which is painted with pink polka dots.
"I was sitting at the light waiting. I heard the screeching and the banging and the duck was just coming. It kept plowing through all the cars. I looked in the rear-view mirror, and all I saw were polka dots coming toward me," Ross said.
Earlier this week, another duck boat was involved in a crash in Court Street near Government Center.
In that incident, passengers on the duck boat said a car carrying a bride to her wedding tried to squeeze between the World War II-era amphibious vehicle and a box truck. The driver of the car was cited.
"We were cleared in that. She was cited for an illegal lane change," Brown said.
Boston Duck Tours uses a fleet of 28 duck boats for tours of the city by land and water.
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