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Friday, March 29, 2024

Duck boat survivor now fights the duck boat industry

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 Tia Coleman is adjusting to an empty house, calling it her “new normal.” 

“On the bad days I cry, I pray, and I can feel the prayers that people have sent me,” Coleman said while holding a pillow with her family’s faces on it. 

Coleman and her family were on vacation in Branson, Missouri, when storms forced the boat to capsize, drowning Coleman’s husband Glenn, 40, and all three of her children – Arya, 1, Evan, 7, and Reece, 9. Extended family members were also on the duck boat. Those family members who lost their lives include Horace “Butch” Coleman, 70, and his wife Belinda “Toni” Coleman, 69; Angiee Coleman, 45, and her son Maxwell, 2, and Ervin “Uncle Ray” Coleman, 76. A total of 17 people died in the tragedy. Since 1999, more than 40 people have died in duck boat incidents.

Coleman’s nephew, Donovan, 13, also survived.

After losing her entire family in the duck boat tragedy in July, Coleman feels it is her time to act. In a press conference held Aug. 14, Coleman, with the help of her family and friends, introduced an online petition to ban duck boats that don’t meet federal safety standards, which up until recently were ignored.

“I was horrified to learn that in 2002 the National Transportation Safety Board told the duck boat industry to make their boats float even if filled with water, and to remove their canopies, which trap its passengers, and they didn’t do it,” Coleman said. “Enough is enough. No family should have to endure the loss we have suffered. Ban the boats now.”

Coleman also provided an update on her life since the tragic event. Physically, she’s improving, however, her life is forever altered.

“My heart is broken and my house that was once overflowing with joy and laughter is now haunted by silence,” Coleman said. 

The petition is online at change.org. Coleman hopes people will also voice their support for Senate Bill 3301, which will force the duck boat industry to only use boats that comply with strict federal safety standards.  

During the press conference, Coleman was asked what she would say to someone still considering riding on a duck boat.

“I can’t force anyone to change their mind, but I would ask them to please listen and reconsider because what I have gone through I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” she said. 

 

Contact Staff writer Mariah Lee at 317-762-7853. Follow her on Twitter at @mariahlee1994.

Sign the petition

Anyone interested in signing Tia Coleman’s petition, should visit change.org and search for Tell Washington to Ban Death Trap Duck Boats Now.

Tia Coleman  (Photo/Theblackdetour.com)

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