Another day, another death thread: Girl dies at one of the water parks

[dbanzai]

From the AP:

ORLANDO (AP) _ An autopsy is planned on a 12-year-old girl who
collapsed and died at a Disney World water park last evening in
Orlando, Florida.
Authorities say the girl was in the wave pool when lifeguards
noticed her lying on a ledge, out of the water.
They asked her if she was O-K and the girl told them she was,
but then passed out when she stood up. The lifeguards performed
C-P-R until paramedics arrived. She was pronounced dead at a
hospital a short time later.
The child from Virginia was visiting Florida with relatives and
had no known medical problems.
In June, a four-year-old boy died at the theme park after riding
Epcot's ``Mission: Space,'' which simulates a shuttle ride to Mars.
The cause of his death remains under investigation.

 

[stemikger]

What the heck is going on. Very weird how all these tragedies are happening in one year. If I believed in curses I would say someone put a curse on the place. And it looks like they have nothing to do with the rides or negligence, but very tragic nonetheless.

 

[stemikger]

Praying for her and her family.

 

[disneyholic family]

my first thought was dehydration...people in water tend to not think about drinking because they don't feel hot............

 

[bicker]

How horrible for her family.

Heat is a very likely culprit. 11 people have died this week in Phoenix from the heat. Keep cool everyone!

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Very sad.

 

[tinkerbelle22]

Wow. Prayers for her family. But I wonder how this happened? Very sad.

 

[Dznefreek]

Girl dies after collapsing at Disney park
The Virginia 12-year-old passed out next to the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon.

By Willoughby Mariano | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 5, 2005

Talk about it: Disney safety
Thursday evening a 12-year-old girl died at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, marking the third time in three months that a young person has fallen critically ill while visiting the theme park. Should Disney take extra measures to ensure the safety of younger visitors? (Moderated)

Considering the high average daily population of WDW it is actually surprising that there are not more deaths. Disney does an amazing job of taking care of their guests. It seems unfair to attack a place that gives so many people happiness just for the sake of producing sensational news stories.
Submitted by: Pamela

A 12-year-old girl died Thursday evening after passing out at the wave pool at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, marking the third time in three months that a young person has suddenly fallen critically ill while visiting Walt Disney World.

The girl was sitting by herself on one of the simulated islands that dot the water park's wave pool about 6 p.m. when a lifeguard approached her to check on her, said Crystal Candy, a spokeswoman with the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The child, who was visiting with cousins and an aunt from Newport News, Va., told the lifeguard she was fine and asked to be left alone. But when she stood up, she immediately passed out and the lifeguard signaled for help.

Employees dialed 911 and monitored the girl's vital signs, Disney spokeswoman Kim Prunty said.

The girl's pulse stopped and she stopped breathing, so lifeguards began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

But it was too late.

Reedy Creek Fire Rescue transported the girl to Florida Hospital Celebration Health, where she was pronounced dead, Candy said.

"It is mysterious," Candy said. She would not identify the girl pending notification of her parents, who were not on the trip. The girl was out of the water when she fell ill.

Bo Jones, a spokesman for Reedy Creek Fire Rescue, called the incident "baffling."

Officials did not know what the girl was doing before lifeguards approached her. Family members, who were nearby when the lifeguard first approached her, told deputies the 12-year-old has no known medical conditions.

Jones said paramedics followed established procedures in their attempts to revive the girl.

Thursday's incident is the third sudden critical illness of a young person visiting Walt Disney World in three months. It is the second fatality.

On June 13, Daudi Bamuwamye, 4, of Pennsylvania collapsed on Epcot's Mission: Space ride and later died. Inspections showed no signs of ride malfunction, and investigators are awaiting results of an Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's report.

On July 12, Leanne Deacon, 16, of Kibworth, England, suffered cardiac arrest shortly after exiting Disney-MGM Studio's Twilight Zone Tower of Terror thrill ride. A CT scan after her collapse showed she was bleeding in her brain.

Although Leanne complained of leg cramps and headaches before her collapse, her mother, June Deacon, told deputies that she too had no known medical conditions.

Leanne remained in critical condition Thursday at Florida Hospital Orlando. Family members have not disclosed further information.

Officials from the Florida Department of Agriculture Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection and Disney found the Tower of Terror operated properly.

The 61-acre Typhoon Lagoon simulates the remains of a Caribbean island village battered by storms. A vast surfing lagoon creates what the park advertises as "one of the world's largest artificially created waves for body surfing," according to one company description.

A Disney company official was dispatched to Florida Hospital Celebration Health to tend to the family's needs. Disney spokeswoman Prunty expressed condolences on behalf of her company.

"Our first thought is for the girl's family," Prunty said.

Willoughby Mariano can be reached at wmariano@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5171.

 

[shelby_36]

Could she have gotten the waves in her face and got water in her lungs? I;ve heard of drowning even out of water? I wonder how many people were in the pool at the time?

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Could she have gotten the waves in her face and got water in her lungs? I;ve heard of drowning even out of water? I wonder how many people were in the pool at the time?

If you have water in your lungs, is it possible to tell the lifeguard that you're ok?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I'm wondering if she hit her head when one of the waves knocked her over. Some of those waves can be pretty powerful. Maybe someone else accidentally hit her in the head when the force of the wave knocked them down. We took the kids to TL in July and DH really wasn't comfortable with the wave pool. I thought he was over reacting, now I'm not so sure.

 

[kupperman]

This is so sad.. Sending prayers out to her family.

 

[susan1]

hi

about three years ago i was in the wave pool at typhoon lagoon nearer the shallow end but still quite deep (watching my son much to his disgust he was 13 and completely fearless!!) when i spotted a child of about 9yrs staggering about and holding her head, she said she had banged it on the bottom of the pool and yes she was there on her own. got the lifeguards attention and she shut the wave machine down, it calms down very quickly and they jumped in and took her off to first aid - as nothing else was heard i take she was none the worse for her ordeal. i really can't believe people let their children roam water parks at such a young age.

 

[mommykds]

What a horrible story...prayers go out to her family. Very sad.

 

[rantnnravin]

sounds like the CM was right on top of things and it's so sad that she refused the help that was offered. It might have saved her life.

 

[jlb21]

What a tragedy. Prayers.

Even if dehydration wasn't the cause of this tragedy, remember to keep drinking water, even before you are "thirsty", which could be too late to avoid dehydration. There are plenty of bathrooms around to go do your thing from all the water you need to drink to stay hydrated. It's not worth not drinking more water than you think you need.

We leave on Monday 8/15....I plan I pretty much having a water bottle in my hand all day.

 

[Harmony]

I just heard about this! How very sad! Esp considering the fact that her parents were not with her at the time. How sad for the entire family. My prayers go out to them...

 

[kellymonaghan]

It amazes me that these press accounts never mention dehydration or overexposure to the sun as possible causes of these tragedies.

If you must report every bad thing that happens at Disney, at least use the occasion to provide some useful information about things to watch out for in the Florida heat and sun.

There's more in this thread.

 

[JimFitz]

Disney does a great job of getting sick people off their property. Ever notice how they always die a "short time later at a local hospital"???

 

[agotta]

I don't understand why these news reports mention other accidents. This girl at the water park has nothing to do with the little boy on mission space...

Our prayers go out to her family.