Charges in Fatal Penn. Duck Boat Crash Forthcoming

U.S. prosecutors in Philadelphia say they will announce criminal charges Thursday in the deadly crash between a barge and a tour boat.

Investigators have said the tug pilot steering the barge was repeatedly on his cell phone dealing with a family emergency when the duck boat stalled in the Delaware River.

The July 7, 2010, crash killed two Hungarian students and sent 35 others aboard the duck boat into the busy shipping channel.

The charges come just weeks after the National Transportation and Safety Board issued its findings on the crash. The agency found K-Sea Transportation Inc. tug pilot Matt Devlin was also surfing the Internet while at the helm that day.

Devlin’s defense lawyer, Frank DeSimone, tells The Associated Press he won’t comment until the charges are announced.