CLOSE Tia Coleman shares memories of her husband and children and talks about life since losing them to the duck boat tragedy in Branson, Mo. Jenna Watson, jenna.watson@indystar.com

Buy Photo Tia Coleman, center in front row, was surrounded by family as she spoke about about how her life has changed since losing her husband and three children in the duck boat tragedy in Branson, Mo., during a press conference held at her home in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. Coleman and her family members began a petition on Change.org to encourage support for a Senate bill that would require duck boats to either be reengineered for safety or banned altogether. (Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)Buy Photo

The Indianapolis woman who lost her husband, three children and five other relatives in the sinking of a Missouri duck boat filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the tour-boat operators and manufacturer.

"This tragedy was the predictable and predicted result of decades of unacceptable,

greed-driven and willful ignorance of safety by the duck boat industry," lawyers for Tia Coleman said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Sixteen of 29 passengers died July 19 when a duck boat sank during stormy weather in Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. A crew member also died.

Nine members of the Coleman family were killed including Tia's husband, Glenn Coleman, 40; daughter Arya Coleman,1; and sons Evan Coleman, 7, and Reece Coleman, 9.

“I know that nothing can ever bring back my family," Coleman said in a statement, "but I hope that through the justice system — and citizen action to ban deadly duck boats — we can spare other families the kind of unimaginable pain and heartbreak I live with every day.

"These boats can never be allowed to kill again.”

Ripley Entertainment Inc., the parent company of the tour operator and the duck boat manufacturer, told IndyStar it can't comment on pending litigation. In a statement on its website, Ripley says the business hasn't operated since the duck boat sank.

Buy Photo Tia Coleman talks about how her life has changed since losing her husband and three children in the duck boat tragedy in Branson, Mo., during a press conference held at her home in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. "I never want another family ever to have to go through this," Coleman said. Coleman and her family members began a petition on Change.org to encourage support for a Senate bill that would require duck boats to either be reengineered for safety or banned altogether. (Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

At least 10 other lawsuits have been filed on behalf of other victims, including the five other Coleman family members: Horace Coleman, 70; his wife, Belinda, 69; his brother Irvin, 76; his daughter, Angela; and Angela's son, Maxwell, 2.

Tia Coleman leveled blame squarely on Ripley Entertainment, which she claims had been warned years ago that duck boats could be deadly.

"If they really supported the families, they never would have put us into what they knew were dangerous duck boats in the face of an oncoming storm," Tia Coleman said in the statement, released by her attorney.

"We trusted them," Coleman said, "and they took our children, husbands, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers , sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends."

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Coleman's lawsuit demands that Ripley shut down duck boat operations worldwide and calls on the rest of the duck boat industry to close until the safety systems are improved. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified compensatory, punitive and other damages.

Coleman's lawyers say there have been 26 deaths linked to six previous duck boat tragedies in the U.S. and Canada dating back to 1999. That year 13 people died in the sinking of a duck boat in Arkansas, including four people who were pinned against the ship's canopy.

In 2002, Coleman's lawyers noted, the National Transportation Safety Board warned that duck boat canopies pose an "unacceptable risk" to passenger safety. The NTSB report urged owners and manufacturers to remove the canopies and make the boats tougher to sink.

On Friday, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed a lawsuit under the state's consumer protection law seeking to force the industry to adopt new safety measures.

The U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Missouri also has launched a criminal investigation. On Aug. 29 prosecutors asked a judge to order a temporary pause in all civil lawsuits filed against the operators. Prosecutors believe the discovery process in the civil suits could jeopardize the criminal probe.

Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at 317-444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @VicRyc.

Read or Share this story: https://indy.st/2Ne4tzJ</s>INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis woman who lost her husband, three children and five other relatives in the sinking of a Missouri duck boat filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the tour-boat operators and manufacturer.

"This tragedy was the predictable and predicted result of decades of unacceptable,

 greed-driven and willful ignorance of safety by the duck boat industry," lawyers for Tia Coleman said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Missouri.

Sixteen of 29 passengers died July 19 when a duck boat sank during stormy weather in Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. A crew member also died.

Nine members of the Coleman family were killed including Tia's husband, Glenn Coleman, 40; daughter Arya Coleman,1; and sons Evan Coleman, 7, and Reece Coleman, 9.

“I know that nothing can ever bring back my family," Coleman said in a statement, "but I hope that through the justice system — and citizen action to ban deadly duck boats — we can spare other families the kind of unimaginable pain and heartbreak I live with every day.

"These boats can never be allowed to kill again.”

Ripley Entertainment Inc., the parent company of the tour operator and the duck boat manufacturer, told IndyStar it can't comment on pending litigation. In a statement on its website, Ripley says the business hasn't operated since the duck boat sank.

At least 10 other lawsuits have been filed on behalf of other victims, including the five other Coleman family members.

Tia Coleman leveled blame squarely on Ripley Entertainment, which she claims had been warned years ago that duck boats could be deadly.

"If they really supported the families, they never would have put us into what they knew were dangerous duck boats in the face of an oncoming storm," Tia Coleman said in the statement, released by her attorney.

"We trusted them," Coleman said, "and they took our children, husbands, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends."

August 29: Coast Guard finds probable cause for 'negligence' in Branson duck boat tragedy, feds say

July 21: Here are the 17 victims of the Missouri duck boat tragedy

Coleman's lawsuit demands that Ripley shut down duck boat operations worldwide and calls on the rest of the duck boat industry to close until the safety systems are improved. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified compensatory, punitive and other damages.

Coleman's lawyers say there have been 26 deaths linked to six previous duck boat tragedies in the U.S. and Canada dating back to 1999.

Coleman's lawyers say the National Transportation Safety Board warned in 2002 that duck boat canopies pose an "unacceptable risk" to passenger safety. The NTSB report urged owners and manufacturers to remove the canopies and make the boats tougher to sink.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed a lawsuit Friday under the state's consumer protection law seeking to force the industry to adopt new safety measures.

Meanwhile, the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Missouri launched a criminal investigation into the duck boat tragedy and on Aug. 29 asked a judge to order a temporary pause in all civil lawsuits filed against the operators. Prosecutors believe the discovery process in the civil suits could jeopardize the criminal probe.</s>Tia Coleman, center in front row, was surrounded by family as she spoke about about how her life has changed since losing her husband and three children in the duck boat tragedy in Branson, Mo., during a press conference held at her home in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. Coleman and her family members began a petition on Change.org to encourage support for a Senate bill that would require duck boats to either be reengineered for safety or banned altogether.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis woman who lost her husband, three children and five other relatives in the sinking of a Missouri duck boat filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the tour-boat operators and manufacturer.

"This tragedy was the predictable and predicted result of decades of unacceptable,

 greed-driven and willful ignorance of safety by the duck boat industry," lawyers for Tia Coleman said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Missouri.

Sixteen of 29 passengers died July 19 when a duck boat sank during stormy weather in Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. A crew member also died.

Nine members of the Coleman family were killed including Tia's husband, Glenn Coleman, 40; daughter Arya Coleman,1; and sons Evan Coleman, 7, and Reece Coleman, 9.

“I know that nothing can ever bring back my family," Coleman said in a statement, "but I hope that through the justice system — and citizen action to ban deadly duck boats — we can spare other families the kind of unimaginable pain and heartbreak I live with every day.

"These boats can never be allowed to kill again.”

Ripley Entertainment Inc., the parent company of the tour operator and the duck boat manufacturer, told IndyStar it can't comment on pending litigation. In a statement on its website, Ripley says the business hasn't operated since the duck boat sank.

Tia Coleman talks about how her life has changed since losing her husband and three children in the duck boat tragedy in Branson, Mo., during a press conference held at her home in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. "I never want another family ever to have to go through this," Coleman said. Coleman and her family members began a petition on Change.org to encourage support for a Senate bill that would require duck boats to either be reengineered for safety or banned altogether.

At least 10 other lawsuits have been filed on behalf of other victims, including the five other Coleman family members.

Tia Coleman leveled blame squarely on Ripley Entertainment, which she claims had been warned years ago that duck boats could be deadly.

"If they really supported the families, they never would have put us into what they knew were dangerous duck boats in the face of an oncoming storm," Tia Coleman said in the statement, released by her attorney.

"We trusted them," Coleman said, "and they took our children, husbands, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends."

August 29: Coast Guard finds probable cause for 'negligence' in Branson duck boat tragedy, feds say

July 21: Here are the 17 victims of the Missouri duck boat tragedy

Coleman's lawsuit demands that Ripley shut down duck boat operations worldwide and calls on the rest of the duck boat industry to close until the safety systems are improved. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified compensatory, punitive and other damages.

Coleman's lawyers say there have been 26 deaths linked to six previous duck boat tragedies in the U.S. and Canada dating back to 1999.

Coleman's lawyers say the National Transportation Safety Board warned in 2002 that duck boat canopies pose an "unacceptable risk" to passenger safety. The NTSB report urged owners and manufacturers to remove the canopies and make the boats tougher to sink.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed a lawsuit Friday under the state's consumer protection law seeking to force the industry to adopt new safety measures.

Meanwhile, the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Missouri launched a criminal investigation into the duck boat tragedy and on Aug. 29 asked a judge to order a temporary pause in all civil lawsuits filed against the operators. Prosecutors believe the discovery process in the civil suits could jeopardize the criminal probe.</s>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Indiana woman whose husband and three children drowned when a duck boat sank in a Missouri lake during a July storm is asking in a federal lawsuit that the owners of the amphibious vehicles stop manufacturing or operating them in the U.S. and other countries until they are redesigned to be safe.

Tia Coleman, of Indianapolis, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Ripley Entertainment and five other companies that manufacture and operate the Ride The Ducks tourist attraction.

Besides her husband and children, Coleman lost five relatives on the boat. Seventeen people died when the boat sank July 19 at Table Rock Lake in Branson. Coleman lost nine of 11 family members on board.

Coleman is seeking financial damages but the lawsuit does not specify the amount. Two other federal lawsuits have been filed in the case, which seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Ripley Entertainment did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This statement was posted on the company’s website prior to this lawsuit:

Ride The Ducks Branson remains deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took place in July. An event like this profoundly touches everyone. The business has not operated since the incident so we can take time to focus on our guests, employees, and families who were affected by the accident. We remain committed to supporting our guests, families, and employees who were affected. To assist families in their time of need, we continue to offer to pay for all related medical bills, funeral expenses, and grief counseling. Interested family members should contact Carolyn McLean at c​a​r​o​l​y​n​.​m​c​l​e​a​n​@​k​g​l​o​b​a​l​.​c​o​m. We want to thank you for your messages offering comfort and compassion and have joined us in offering prayers and support. Our hearts continue to go out to all that have been affected. We offer our sincere condolences to them and to the entire community of Branson, Missouri.</s>An Indiana woman whose husband and three children drowned when a duck boat sank in a Missouri lake during a July storm is asking in a federal lawsuit that the owners of the amphibious vehicles stop manufacturing or operating them in the U.S. and other countries until they are redesigned to be safe.

Tia Coleman, of Indianapolis, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Ripley Entertainment and five other companies that manufacture and operate the Ride The Ducks tourist attraction.

Besides her husband and children, Coleman lost five relatives on the boat. Seventeen people died when the boat sank July 19 at Table Rock Lake in Branson. Coleman is seeking financial damages but the lawsuit does not specify the amount.

Ripley said it can't comment on litigation but continues to offer support for victims and their families.</s>An Indiana woman whose husband and three children drowned when a duck boat sank in a Missouri lake has filed a federal lawsuit requesting an end to the manufacture and operation of the amphibious vehicles in the U.S. and elsewhere until they are redesigned for safety.

Tia Coleman, of Indianapolis, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Ripley Entertainment and five other companies that manufacture and operate the Ride The Ducks tourist attraction.

Besides her husband and children, Coleman lost five other relatives on the boat . Seventeen people died when the boat sank July 19 at Table Rock Lake in Branson. Coleman is seeking unspecified financial damages.

Ripley said it can't comment on litigation but continues to offer support for victims and their families.</s>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Indiana woman whose husband and three children drowned when a duck boat sank in a Missouri lake during a July storm is asking in a federal lawsuit that the owners of the amphibious vehicles stop manufacturing or operating them in the U.S. and other countries until they are redesigned to be safe.

Tia Coleman, of Indianapolis, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Ripley Entertainment and five other companies that manufacture and operate the Ride The Ducks tourist attraction.

Besides her husband and children, Coleman lost five relatives on the boat . Seventeen people died when the boat sank July 19 at Table Rock Lake in Branson. Coleman is seeking financial damages but the lawsuit does not specify the amount.

Ripley Entertainment did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Tia Coleman, of Indianapolis, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Ripley Entertainment and five other companies that manufacture and operate the Ride The Ducks tourist attraction.

Besides her husband and children, Coleman lost five other relatives on the boat . Seventeen people died when the boat sank July 19 at Table Rock Lake in Branson. Coleman is seeking unspecified financial damages.

Ripley said it can’t comment on litigation but continues to offer support for victims and their families.</s>There’s not a day that goes by that Tia Coleman, a survivor of the tragic duck boat accident at Table Rock Lake, Missouri, doesn’t think about the nine family members she lost in the July incident.

On Tuesday, just over a month after the accident, Coleman filed a federal lawsuit against Ripley Entertainment Inc., the parent company of the Ride the Ducks tour and the duck boat manufacturer, according to the . She is asking for $300 million in financial damages as well as the end of Duck Boat manufacturing and operation, the Indianapolis Patch reported.

“This tragedy was the predictable and predicted result of decades of unacceptable, greed-driven and willful ignorance of safety by the duck boat industry,” Coleman’s lawyer explained in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Missouri, the reported.

Tina, whose husband Glenn Coleman, 40, daughter Arya Coleman, 1, and sons Evan Coleman, 7, and Reece Coleman, 9, all died after the boat capsized, said she hopes taking legal action can help make sure “these boats can never be allowed to kill again,” according to a statement obtained by the

RELATED: Lawyer Reveals Ride the Ducks Boats Involved in Other Fatal Accidents: ‘They Are Sinking Coffins’

“I know that nothing can ever bring back my family,” Coleman explained in the statement. “But I hope that through the justice system — and citizen action to ban deadly duck boats— we can spare other families the kind of unimaginable pain and heartbreak I live with every day.”

During a press conference at her home in Indianapolis, Coleman said, “I still wake up expecting to roll over and see my husband in the bed or to hearing him in the bathroom getting ready for work. I was in the bed and I woke up because I heard the bus outside and I almost yelled ‘Hurry up your going to miss the bus,’ but then I realized they won’t be getting any more busses.”

Only Coleman and her 13-year-old nephew survived the accident. His mother, Angela Coleman, 45, and brother, Maxwell Coleman, 2, were also among the nine Coleman family members who died.

RELATED: The 17 Victims of the Tragic Duck Boat Accident Identified

Sadly, the Coleman family was not supposed to be on the boat. Tia told KOLR that she and her family initially missed their boat after going to the wrong duck boat business. However, when they made it to the Ride the Ducks company, they were allowed to switch their tickets to that specific boat ride.

One day after the accident, Coleman opened up about the terrifying experience.

“I couldn’t hear screams, it felt like I was out there on my own,” Coleman said. “And I was yelling, screaming and finally, I said, ‘Lord, just let me die, let me die, I can’t keep drowning, I just can’t keep drowning.’ And then I just let go.”

RELATED: Duck Boat Survivor Says Captain Told Them ‘Don’t Worry About Grabbing the Life Jackets’

Out of 31 passengers, 17 died. Ride the Ducks also released a statement regarding the accident.

“Ride The Ducks Branson remains deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took place in July. An event like this profoundly touches everyone. The business has not operated since the incident so we can take time to focus on our guests, employees, and families who are affected by this accident.”</s>Coleman's husband and three children drowned in the infamous Duck Boat tragedy that occurred in Branson, Missouri.

According to the law office representing Coleman, the wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Federal court in Kansas City.

"Ripley Entertainment, through its spokesperson, has repeatedly claimed that they are supportive of the families," Coleman said. "If they really supported the families, they never would have put us into what they knew were dangerous duck boats in the face of an oncoming storm."

Coleman's main goal is to ban Duck Boats. The complaint she filed says the Duck Boat industry should cease operations until Duck Boats are made unsinkable and their canopies are removed.

"I know that nothing can ever bring back my family, but I hope that through the justice system - and citizen action to ban deadly duck boats - we can spare other families the kind of unimaginable pain and heartbreak I live with every day," Coleman said. "These boats can never be allowed to kill again."

Here is the link to the law office's original website post. (click here)
Tia Coleman, a Indianapolis woman who lost her husband and eight other relatives in the sinking of a duck boat in Branson, Missouri, files a lawsuit against the tour boat operators and manufacturer.