Coleman family files second wrongful death lawsuit after Missouri duck boat tragedy

INDIANAPOLIS – Members of the Coleman family, which lost nine of 11 vacationing relatives when a duck boat sank in a severe thunderstorm in Branson, Missouri, filed a second federal wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the Missouri sightseeing tour's operators.

The estates of Belinda and Angela Coleman are listed as plaintiffs.

"Our family tree is broken," said Lisa Berry, a sister of Belinda Coleman. "The pain and the hurt we feel is incredible."

One by one, almost 50 members of the Coleman family identified themselves and listed the loved ones they lost when the land-water vessel capsized in the storm July 19. The emotional statements came at the beginning of a news conference here Tuesday.

► July 31: Duck boat tragedy prompts Coast Guard's highest level of investigation
► July 30: Family files $100M wrongful death lawsuit in Branson duck boat accident
► July 27: Duck boat captain noted weather before deadly voyage, NTSB says

Lawyers for the estates of the two Coleman family members also represent the estates of two other Coleman family members who died in the tragedy.

One family member shuddered and sobbed as she recounted how she is tortured by what her relatives' last thoughts may have been as they were trapped in the boat while it sank.

"I just can't imagine what they must have been thinking, what they must have been feeling in those moments," said Kyrie Rose, niece of Belinda Coleman. "I know, for me, I get choked up when I drink a bottle of water and it goes down the wrong pipe the wrong way. And in my mind, I'm like: 'Damn, it's burning. That has to be the worst.'"

Seventeen people drowned that evening on Table Rock Lake near Branson, including three generations of the Coleman family. Only two Coleman family members aboard the boat survived: Tia Coleman and her nephew Donovan, 13.

Berry and Rose spoke on behalf of the rest of their family.

► July 26: Woman wants to donate family's cemetery plots to Colemans
► July 23: Branson duck boat, sunk in 80 feet of water, raised from bottom of lake

Rose misses her cousin Glenn Coleman's laugh and his babies, Reece, 9, Evan, 7, and Arya, 1, she said. Her cousin Angela Coleman was an amazing baker and would have made an elaborate birthday cake for her son Maxwell, who died a week before his third birthday.

Berry said her sister Toni was a good, patient listener, and Toni's husband, Horace "Butch" Coleman, was just like family to them.

Irvin "Ray" Coleman, 76, Butch's eldest brother, would watch the news and "express how tragic any family member would be feeling to lose their life on a vacation that was supposed to be fun," Berry said, with tears choking her words.

Family members of Irvin Coleman and his great-nephew Maxwell, 2, filed the first lawsuit Sunday, a day after the last of two funerals for the nine Coleman family members who died.

The Colemans who died were Horace Coleman, 70; his wife, Belinda, 69; his brother Irvin, 76; his son Glenn; his daughter, Angela; Glenn's children Reece, 9, Evan, 7, and Arya, 1; and Angela's son, Maxwell, 2. The family's obituary spells the name of Irvin with an I. The lawsuit uses an E.

"I tell the duck boat industry this: 'Watch this. Look at their faces. Remember their names and understand the incredible loss," said Bob Mongeluzzi, a lawyer representing the family.

At a news conference Monday in Kansas City, Missouri, Mongeluzzi said the aim of the lawsuit is to drive duck boats out of business.

“Duck boats are sinking coffins,” he said Monday. “Once they take on water, they sink. And they sink fast.”

He reiterated that sentiment at Tuesday's news conference, adding, "I expect there will be additional litigation."

► July 22: Ban duck boat tours, says former NTSB chairman after Branson sinking
► July 22: Iowa nurse, guardsman attempted to save Branson duck boat victims

The suit blames the duck boat industry for decades of “willful ignorance of safety” and greed. It points to 26 deaths linked to six previous duck boat tragedies, including the 1999 sinking of the Miss Majestic Duck Boat in Arkansas.

Meanwhile, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., introduced a bill Tuesday in Congress that would require the design problems of the amphibious vessels to be addressed.

Duck boat owners and manufacturers have failed to respond to National Transportation Safety Board warnings that duck boat canopies present a safety hazard by trapping victims underwater, according to the suit.

► July 22: Sunken duck boat had a video recorder. Officials aren't sure if it works
► July 21: Would wearing life jackets have made duck boat accident worse?

"The people are the government," Berry said. "Let's stand up ... and do something about this."

Ride the Ducks Branson, Ripley Entertainment and Amphibious Vehicle Manufacturing refused to heed the warnings, the suit says.

The owners of the Branson duck boat company, Ripley Entertainment, had been warned that engines and bilge pumps “might fail in bad weather due to the improper placement of the boats’ exhaust system,” the lawsuit said.

► July 21: Duck boat passenger who lost 9 family members shares survival story
► July 21: St. Louis couple who died in duck boat tragedy remembered by friends

Ripley Entertainment spokeswoman Suzanna Smagala said the company is waiting to comment until the NTSB investigation concludes.

Separately, daughters of a Missouri couple killed in the duck boat accident filed a Missouri state court lawsuit Monday against Ride the Ducks International, Ripley Entertainment, boat captain Kenneth McKee and deceased employee Robert Williams.

Also Monday, the mother of a child injured in the duck boat accident filed a lawsuit in Orlando, Florida, against Ripley Entertainment.

Contributing: Ethan May, Indianapolis Star. Follow Faith E. Pinho and Vic Ryckaert on Twitter: @faithepinho and @VicRyc

Related

► July 21: Missouri duck boat's 'Captain Bob' had heart for homeless, veterans
► July 21: Here are the 17 victims of the Missouri duck boat tragedy
► July 21: These are the nine Indianapolis family members who died
► July 20: Nine Indiana family members among Branson duck boat victims
► July 20: Officials say it could be a year before answers arise in duck boat accident

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