Driver killed in monorail crash....

[PixieDust32]

Seriously, folks.

Step back a moment and put this in perspective. For instance:

1) "OMG!! That had to have been going MUCH more than 15 mph.!!"

Um, no it didn't. I spent nine years on the fire department and I have seen fatalities from collisions at low speeds. It boils down to momentum and moment of inertia. Idiots who fly down I-95 doing 90mph have no clue what's in store for them should a tire blow, etc.

2) Statements like "I am certain that...", "There is no doubt..."

Oh really? Were you there? Are you a qualified and experienced systems engineer specializing in mass-transit vehicles? Nope, none of the above. Back off. Opinions are one thing, but don't walk around like some expert unless you are.

3) "We have a RIGHT to watch the video!!"

No you don't. That video (more than likely) is still privately owned, filmed by a private party. Being on YouTube does NOT make it public domain. The DIS, being a privately-owned entity, has every stinkin right to not allow a link on its forum.

Yes, I watched the video. The first-on gentlemen were more than likely plain-clothes security, not guests. One was heard saying that this was being handled as a MCI (Mass Casualty Incident) and that the RCFD (Reedy Creek Fire Department) was on its way.

The media will put disturbing, graphic videos up for ratings. The whole "disclaimer" of saying "This may disturb some viewers" is nothing more than an attention getter saying "Watch closely, we have a really juicy tape for which we payed big money". Sick? Yeah, pretty much. I saw enough in person for nine years to last a lifetime...I normally don't watch these things, heck, I don't even like to watch CSI. I think a lot of people who thrive on this kind on thing are those who don't know the reality of being there. I watched this particular video from a "first-in responder" perspective to see what I could glean. My blood still ran cold because I knew what was waiting for the ladder crew inside that cab once they cut it open.


Bottom line:
A talented young man full of life, lost that life, and from preliminary descriptions, through no fault or error of his own. For reasons sincere or not, Disney will find out exactly what went wrong, correct it, and move on. Do we have a right to know that? Not really. I'm sure we all would, but don't count on Disney PR to issue a play-by-play of the accident. We only have to make the decision whether or not to trust that they have corrected what had to be corrected.

For myself, I will be looking forward to riding in the cockpit with my children again at the first opportunity.

Well said! Bravooo! People should shut their pie holes.
We're looking forward to riding in the cockpit as well.

 

[lilmissdisney216]

Well agreed with Jax and the previous poster. I too will be looking forward to riding in the cockpit as well when DBF and I have our trippie next year.

 

[inkkognito]

Me three. Riding in the front of the monorail was the highlight of many, many trips for DH and I. We have our pilot licenses and I even managed to get a pair of pilot wings in my pin trading days. This is one fatality out of 38 years of safe operation. Accidents happen, but I will never let fear rule my life. I'm just so sad that this particular accident snuffed out the life of this promising young man, and I can't even imagine the horror of the other driver and the CMs who witnessed this. I'm sure Austin loved his job and took pride in it, and I will never stop riding the monorails and will say a little prayer for him when I ride in the future.

 

[PixieDust32]

We rode the pink and purple monorail on that day and watched the fireworks in epcot, I was in shock when I heard the news and Im so sad because we lost a life and a Disney CM.

 

[LauralF22]

I just found out today... and came here to find out what happened. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the deceased and also the survivors (expecially the other driver).

I'm undecided as to whether or not I will want my children riding in the front, but I agree that safety procedures will be increased after this tragedy, so it will probably be safer than ever.

 

[inkkognito]

They've supposedly reopened now: http://bit.ly/nXyBq

DH and I may go there this evening just to do a monporail ride to prove our confidence in their safety and the drivers and to say a little prayer for Austin, his family, and especially for the other driver and the fellow CMs who are all devastated by this.

 

[irunnoft]

Others stated clearly they called the fire department and there were more than enough guests trying to help (in my opinion more than the Monorail CM whose biggest concern was to turn the camera guy away).

Just my take on the video and the CM who you believe was more concerned with cameras. . . I don't think that was the case at all. I watched the video a few times and the CM (the older male) seemed concerned about the pilot at first. To me, it seems like he might have seen the condition of the pilot and recognized he didn't survive the crash. At that point, I believe everybody but the deceased pilot was off both monorails. I can then immediately understand why he wouldn't want somebody filming that. So, in watching the video, I believe both CMs pictured had already made sure all guests and passengers were off both monorails. I also believe the one gentleman saw enough in his attempt to extricate the pilot that he was dead, if not seriously wounded. At that point, it seems to me that there was nothing else he could do until firemen with equipment arrived to extricate the driver. I completely understand his wanting to keep something potentially morbid from being filmed. Let's face it, I think his actions are commendable above and beyond that of the person filming, who, in my opinion, would've filmed every last detail if he could have.

 

[DisneyWithMyBoyz]

According to that theory the former pilot posted, monorail purple could have put himself in reverse and booked it out of there. However, you have to remember that young Austen was a new driver. If the alarms were going off and whatnot, he may have been a bit panicked and probably didn't realize what was going on until it was too late.

So unbelieveably sad.

 

[DisneyWithMyBoyz]

And no I wasn't there, and no, I wasn't in Austen's head when it happened. But people are asking, "why didn't he just throw it in reverse and get out of there?"

That is just a possible reason why.

 

[3"Mouse"keteers]

A Florida News station reported that a tourist said that earlier last night a monorail operator said that the monorail was "acting up." They were unsure if this was on the same monorail.

We were there a month ago and the same monorail train was acting up. We had to wait several minutes while the mechanics came to see if it was a computer problem or something they could fix. After a while, they took it back empty and sent another train for us. Pretty scary!

 

[Cmbar]

Austin must have been a bright young man to be chosen to pilot a monorail.

I am glad that the CM noticed the camera and told the guest to turn it off. I don't think that was his FIRST reaction though--he was obviously trying to get to the driver. But imagine if he hadn't noticed and the one taping it had gotten footage of the deceased driver. That is something that none of us needs to see, and that I think would be especially painful for Austin's family.

Just my take on the video and the CM who you believe was more concerned with cameras. . . I don't think that was the case at all. I watched the video a few times and the CM (the older male) seemed concerned about the pilot at first. To me, it seems like he might have seen the condition of the pilot and recognized he didn't survive the crash. At that point, I believe everybody but the deceased pilot was off both monorails. I can then immediately understand why he wouldn't want somebody filming that. So, in watching the video, I believe both CMs pictured had already made sure all guests and passengers were off both monorails. I also believe the one gentleman saw enough in his attempt to extricate the pilot that he was dead, if not seriously wounded. At that point, it seems to me that there was nothing else he could do until firemen with equipment arrived to extricate the driver. I completely understand his wanting to keep something potentially morbid from being filmed. Let's face it, I think his actions are commendable above and beyond that of the person filming, who, in my opinion, would've filmed every last detail if he could have.

You bring up a good point that the CM may have already seen that the Driver was deceased. I however do not think that the person filming is some kind of evil sleusayer out to make sure that they get every graphic detail of some horrid event so they can make millions of dollars selling it. I tend to give this person the benefit of the doubt and I for one am glad that I was able to see the video which by the way probably could help in the investigation. There were probablly some evil people on the ground video taping from the parking lot too. You may have been one of those who thought we should not have seen the devastation of the tragedy of 9/11. Maybe the news stations shouldn't have had the video rolling while all those people were dying inside the collapsing towers. Does the fact that NBC, ABC or whomever you were watching that day give them more license as a media outlet to film tragedy and rescue. What if that wonderful CM had been rescued and saved by the CMs on the platform? (oh how I wish this had been the case) Then the video would be a wonderful thing for us to have had. I know the outcome is terrible and sad and I think any video that did have the morbid should be edited, but some have sounded as if the video guy did some kind of horrendous thing. I just don't agree. JMHO though!

 

[fairestoneofall]

According to that theory the former pilot posted, monorail purple could have put himself in reverse and booked it out of there. However, you have to remember that young Austen was a new driver. If the alarms were going off and whatnot, he may have been a bit panicked and probably didn't realize what was going on until it was too late.

So unbelieveably sad.

Yes. But if people were in the process of loading, he might not have had time. Who knows. We weren't there. I don't know that we'll ever know if Austin had any warning of it at all.

I heard an interview with some guy who claimed to be there and called them the red monorail and the blue monorail. It made me think he probably wasn't there at all, just saw the pictures (which look like red and blue).

 

[Cmbar]

According to that theory the former pilot posted, monorail purple could have put himself in reverse and booked it out of there. However, you have to remember that young Austen was a new driver. If the alarms were going off and whatnot, he may have been a bit panicked and probably didn't realize what was going on until it was too late.

So unbelieveably sad.

And no I wasn't there, and no, I wasn't in Austen's head when it happened. But people are asking, "why didn't he just throw it in reverse and get out of there?"

That is just a possible reason why.

There is also the theory that Purple was disabled by its own MAPO because the Pink was close to it and therefore Austin had not control over Purple to reverse. This is all speculation and unfortunately we will probably never know what happened. My hope is that Austin did not see the train coming and it was a suddend death. It still isn't very clear yet (at least I haven't seen anything) where it has been confirmed that actual impact occured in station or past the station. I think it has been determined that Pink was in reverse and hit Purple, but I don't think it has been determined how exactly and where. From the video (by the evil onlooker ) It looks as if the train had just been pushed back to get the family out and therefore the accident may have occured outside the station. I do hope Disney will explain what happened. It is just so chilling to know we were on that monrail just three days before with my DH and DS riding it on late EMH till around 1am. For all we know we could have had Austin as our driver since he had the late shift. I still can't shake it.

 

[fairestoneofall]

You bring up a good point that the CM may have already seen that the Driver was deceased. I however do not think that the person filming is some kind of evil sleusayer out to make sure that they get every graphic detail of some horrid event so they can make millions of dollars selling it. I tend to give this person the benefit of the doubt and I for one am glad that I was able to see the video which by the way probably could help in the investigation. There were probablly some evil people on the ground video taping from the parking lot too. You may have been one of those who thought we should not have seen the devastation of the tragedy of 9/11. Maybe the news stations shouldn't have had the video rolling while all those people were dying inside the collapsing towers. Does the fact that NBC, ABC or whomever you were watching that day give them more license as a media outlet to film tragedy and rescue. What if that wonderful CM had been rescued and saved by the CMs on the platform? (oh how I wish this had been the case) Then the video would be a wonderful thing for us to have had. I know the outcome is terrible and sad and I think any video that did have the morbid should be edited, but some have sounded as if the video guy did some kind of horrendous thing. I just don't agree. JMHO though!

You quoted me. And I don't think you were implying that I was saying the one taping it was evil, but I did want to say that I don't think he was. Truth be told, my DH would probably tape it too. Not trying to catch something morbid or to try to make any money, but more the shock of seeing two monorails crashed into each other. Of course, my DH would also have the decency to NOT record if it seemed anything morbid was going to be shown. I would think/hope that the CMs got the regular guests out of the area before the driver was removed.

We live in a voyeuristic society. That's just the way it is. And you referenced 9/11. I will never, ever forget watching that unfold on the news. Ever.

 

[HeatherBelle614]

My thoughts and prayers go out to this young man's family.

And, I have to say, I've skimmed a few threads about this and seen the random post (here and there) about hoping the monorail is open in time for their vacations because they're staying at a resort on the line, they're paying a lot for it, etc. Really? I'm sure if this was your child/friend/family member, you wouldn't been looking at it that way.

I understand it is open again today, but it really makes me wonder about some people when that's enough of a concern to post it on here, or if that's even the major thought in your head when you heard the news. That family lost someone they loved; it wouldn't even cross my mind to think "well, I sure hope it's open by the time I go to WDW."

God Bless, Austin.

 

[kritter]

Am I reading this corectly there is a video??

Can someone post the link for me??

 

[lilmissdisney216]

Am I reading this corectly there is a video??

Can someone post the link for me??

Its on youtube. You might have to search for it. I don't know if the mods will approve of it being posted on the boards but don't quote me on that.

 

[fan1080]

Am I reading this corectly there is a video??

Can someone post the link for me??

The previous video links were removed by the mods.

You will have to find it elsewhere.

 

[Cmbar]

You quoted me. And I don't think you were implying that I was saying the one taping it was evil, but I did want to say that I don't think he was. Truth be told, my DH would probably tape it too. Not trying to catch something morbid or to try to make any money, but more the shock of seeing two monorails crashed into each other. Of course, my DH would also have the decency to NOT record if it seemed anything morbid was going to be shown. I would think/hope that the CMs got the regular guests out of the area before the driver was removed.

We live in a voyeuristic society. That's just the way it is. And you referenced 9/11. I will never, ever forget watching that unfold on the news. Ever.

Thats kinda how I feel, that it was more of a "oh my goodness look at these two monorails crashed together video". There is no way the person filming could have know that the CM had died. So there are people here saying he was sick or something, but my point was that I was glad there was a video and would have been MORE glad if there had been a video of a rescue. It is good that probably once the CM noticed that the driver was probably dead that he asked the guest to shut off the camera. I don't think that would have been appropriate and you are right unfortunately we do live in a society where common sense and decency has been lost.

 

[scrappystamper1]

I know this is Disny and we think nothing bad should ever happen but, Let's just think a minute here. Think about the millions of people that Disney transports every day by bus, boat, monorail etc... I would still say they are safer than most modes of transportation wouldn't you? I know that have done their best to ensure that things are a safe as possible and yet mechanical errors happen.
Our last trip we had a bus ride from hell, the driver was obviously confused he almost T-boned another bus ( I am talking inches the whole winshield was filled with the words "DISNEY TRANSPORTATION" I was scared to death, they he got so shook up he took us to the contemporary resot instead of Magic Kingdom and we all demanded to get off. After that we boarded a monorail (we were transportation hopping you know how it goes...) and were lucky enough to sit up front with a very nice driver. As we started over the lagoon towards the Poly, an alarm went off and he said "uh-oh" and I said "what does Uh-oh mean? we just had a near death experience with a bus, so what is uh-oh?" and he said, it means we are too close to the next train. you see the alarm sounds and if the driver does not respond the whole train will shut down to avoid a collision". We stopeed on the track until the next loading station was clear.
My point to telling you this long and involved story was that disney takes our safety very seroiusly (just ask anyone who has ever looked like they were going to stand up on Splash or touched the water on IASM they are right there watching you every minute.)
It is very sad that this happened. Will I ever ride the monorail again? well YEAH, I got back on a bus again that same night. Look at it this way, I bet now they will be even more careful with us.

Janet Paddock