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Duck boat strikes overpass on Storrow Drive, damaging roof

A duck boat had an incident on Storrow Drive. Video courtesy of Colin Beatt.
A duck boat had an incident on Storrow Drive. Video courtesy of Colin Beatt.

A duck boat struck an overpass on Storrow Drive Sunday evening, damaging the vehicle’s canopy roof and rear stairs, officials said.

The vehicle, which is operated by Boston Duck Tours, smacked into a bridge while it was traveling eastbound, near the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, around 6:30 p.m., said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

No injuries were reported among the estimated 20 people who were aboard the duck boat, MacDonald said. The vehicle, known as “Miss Emma Science,” was able to move off the roadway, and Boston firefighters helped the passengers off near Leverett Circle since the rear stairs were not working, he said.

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State Police did not cite the driver, Trooper Nicole Morrell said.

Boston Duck Tours spokesman Joe Baerlein said in a statement that a first-year duck boat driver was diverted off a standard tour route because Beacon Street was closed.

The boats, which are twelve feet tall, do not typically travel on Storrow Drive, said Baerlein in his statement. The driver’s actions, although not intentional, will be reviewed by the company, he said.

The crash comes days after state officials warned returning college students and their families about height restrictions on Boston’s roadways, including Storrow Drive.

Boston Duck Tours has been involved in a pair of high-profile traffic incidents this year. Earlier this summer, the driver of a Boston Duck Tours vehicle that struck a woman in Back Bay was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

In April, a woman was killed after the motor scooter she was driving collided with a duck boat.

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Video courtesy of Colin Beatt.