Driver killed in monorail crash....

[UGAFan0829]

Wow...what an amazing young man. I didn't think the video of him would get to me either, but it certainly did. I agree that you could tell that he loved his job.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Oh gosh, I have tears coming down my face after watching Austin with the family. You could clearly tell he loved his job and was spreading his special magic. It's easy to see he touched so many people before leaving...I also hope the other driver is recovering both physically and emotionally.

Heather

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Oh my goodness, that is so sad to watch and yet so beautiful. I have tears in my eyes and not just at the video, but the description of the meeting from the lady who taped it. What an amazing man he was, truly full of the Disney Spirit that makes Disney so much more then just a theme park. I think though that I am glad that I never had the oppurtunity to meet him, as it hurts me enough without. I do wonder if he didn't drive us once or twice when we were down in November, but we did not have the chance this trip to ride up front.

What an horrible loss...

 

[joy13]

Wow - Austin was great at his job, we rode in the front in our last trip and the driver didn't even talk to us, so not all are like that. What a loss

 

[Renee1061]

I already felt like I had lost someone I knew.....now seeing the video of Austin, I feel that way even more. We rode the monorail many times when we were there week before last. I like to think that Austin was at the helm at least one of those times.

 

[NJAmanda]

Okay... I cried. Beautiful young man's life cut so short.

This is so true....I am again so sorry his loved ones and family in this time.

 

[Jrabbit910]

So so so sad. Your disney family from around the world is praying for your family. You will be missed by many...

 

[Caitsmama]

Wow.. what an unbelievable video. He seemed like such a sweet kid (guy).. Disney has lost a great CM.. Prayers to Austin's family.

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

Disney has lost a great CM.

I agree.

That's why it's hard for me when I read posts here on the DIS openly speculating that his negligence caused the crash. Of course, now that some facts are coming to light a rather different picture is emerging.

De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I saw on Facebook that they are hoping to get the purple (color) monorail retired. I had not thought about this before, but while it would not scare me to get on the monorail (safety wise), I bet I would feel awful getting on the purple one. As it is I know when I do get on I will be thinking of Austin. I hope that they decide to do this, now that I think more about it.

 

[LMN]

On Fox News last night, they interviewed his aunt, who said that he often worked late and had a system so his mom would know he had arrived home safely when she woke. She would leave the TV on, and he would turn it off when he got in. When she woke up and saw it off, she knew he was safely in bed. The aunt broke down into tears when she said his mom saw that TV on that day and immediately knew something was wrong...that just gave me chills.

Oh, my goodness, that is every mother's nightmare. I feel so sorry for what this woman and her family are going through. I just watched the video of the Connecticut family who rode with Austin on 6/30. He sure seemed to enjoy his job and was great at spreading the magic. RIP, Austin.

 

[~Kik-Kik~]

My heart truly goes out to the family for their loss. It's sad to see a life cut short.

I really hope that people focus on the man that he was outside of Disney because he was far more than a CM.

 

[~Kik-Kik~]

Sorry for the 2x post. Hit the post button 1 too many times, lol. This can be deleted.

 

[p8ntballmike]

We were at Epcot and rode the monorail back to ITC about 1:15am that night after the fireworkes just before the accident. When i was watching the news sunday morning i couldn't believe what i was hearing. We were discusing how safe the system was when we were on it. I know its still safe and this was an accident its just the irony of it.



Our thoughts and prayers are with Austin and his family

 

[OKWDVCMagic]

Saw the family video submitted by a guest who just recently rode with Austin. Seeing that young man spend so much time talking to the four year old boy really showed how much of a gentle soul he was and the pride he had for his work at WDW.

God rest his soul and allow his family the strength to bear this sad, sad tragedy.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

Much like a lot of the other assumptions presented earlier in this thread, I suggest that this is premature.

Could be true, but currently it's a prediction with little evidence.

Are not all predictions based on assumptions? If you have evidence, it's no longer a prediction.

Not to mention my 'assumption' about the rail switch turned out to be accurate.

It all comes down to trust. The driver trusted the procedures and that the info Monorail Central gave him was true. It wasn't, but since there was not a driver at the correct end of the monorail, the pilot had no idea whether he was on the spur.

 

[Samandmom]

I've got photos in my report that my husband got from the TV:

http://bit.ly/RITRQ

Thanks for this link. It brought me to a guests home video of Austin. The guests who sent in the video live up the street from me.

 

[stacy6552]

Does anyone know how the other pilot and other CM's involved in the crash are doing?

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I have not heard anything about the other pilot since hearing he was taken to the hospital because he was so upset. I can't even imagine what he is going through---so devistated for sure. We do need to keep him in our thoughts as well, he has to live with this accident and no doubt he knew Austin which I am sure only makes it worse.

Thanks for the reminder (for me anyway) my mind has been so focused on Austin's mom that I kind of did forget the otehr pilot the last day or so.

 

[DisneyBarlans]

Poor Austin-that video was so sad. Saying a prayer for his family and the other driver....