This Has Not Been a Banner Year for Duck Boats

Photo via iStock/Jose Gil

This year will not one fondly remembered in the brightly colored, tourist-filled annals of duck boat history.

A duck boat struck the overpass on Sorrow Drive Sunday, something more commonly practiced by wayward moving trucks and affectionately known around these parts as “Storrowing.” The duck boat’s roof and rear stairs were badly damaged in the crash, officials say.

@WCVB Ive been told that I t hit a bridge?
Sure. And here’s a photo of the damage. pic.twitter.com/kfvBj6d4Yy

— Kamil (@CarGuyDad) August 28, 2016

Something happened to/on a duckboat: fire truck + troopers + second duckboat. @universalhub pic.twitter.com/1gaCRomhUl

— Kamil (@CarGuyDad) August 28, 2016

The amphibious vehicle, operated by Boston Duck Tours, struck the overpass while traveling eastbound near the Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary, around 6:30 p.m., Boston Fire Department spokesperson Steve MacDonald told the Globe.

A spokesperson for Boston Duck Tours said the driver only took Storrow because he was diverted from Beacon Street. Duck boats do not typically travel on Storrow Drive, and the first-year driver’s decision will be reviewed by the company, the spokesperson said. State police did not issue a citation.

Sunday’s incident on Storrow Drive was the latest in a string of woes for the city’s fleet of duck boats. In April, a 29-year-old woman was killed when a duck boat collided with her motor scooter. Another duck boat driver was cited in a July crash that left a New Jersey woman with injuries, after Boston police say he failed to yield at the crosswalk on the corner of Newbury and Clarendon Streets.

In all three incidents, the vehicles were operated by Boston Duck Tours.