The 44-year-old man who died after suffering an apparent heart attack on Walt Disney World's Expedition Everest ride was suffering from an enlarged heart and had a history of heart arrhythmias. The District Nine Medical Examiner's Office said Jeffery C. Reeb, of Navarre, Fla., died of dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that in this case had no known cause.
The medical examiner's office said the condition is a heart abnormality, and Reeb was considered to have died of natural causes.
Reeb was found unconscious and unresponsive when he arrived at the Expedition Everest unloading area at about 11:25 a.m. Tuesday. Disney officials said the ride was inspected and reopened late Tuesday.
According to investigators, a camera at the attraction showed Reeb conscious less than a minute before the ride ended.
The death was the first associated with the nearly 2-year-old ride and the fourth this year connected with a Disney World attraction.
Reeb was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by a Disney employee at the scene and another visitor who was a registered nurse. Reedy Creek Emergency Services paramedics reached him in about five minutes. At about that time,
the 911 caller advised the Reedy Creek dispatcher that there was no portable defibrillator around.
Reedy Creek Assistant Fire Chief Bo Jones said it would be impossible to know whether a readily available portable defibrillator would have made any difference. He said it would not have made any difference to Reedy Creek's paramedics, who carry their own.
The man had no pulse when paramedics arrived, Jones said. There was no apparent trauma and "no obvious signs of any cause," he said. Reedy Creek transported him to Florida Hospital Celebration Health, where he was pronounced dead.
Declaring that portable heart defibrillators may have saved as many as 40 lives at
Disneyland and Disney World or on
Disney Cruise Line ships since 650 of them were installed in 2003, the Walt Disney Co. announced just last month that it intends to install 250 more on its properties, including another 200 at Disney World. The company also has trained thousands of employees to use them.
There reportedly were at least two in Animal Kingdom on Tuesday, including one at a first-aid station on Discovery Island, a couple hundred yards away from the Everest ride, and one on a mobile cart.
Reeb's death is not the first associated with an apparent heart attack at a Disney theme-park location lacking a defibrillator since the company began its program. In 2005, a 4-year-old boy with an undetected heart disease died of a heart attack after riding the Mission: Space ride at Epcot. The family sued, and one of the allegations was that Disney had not placed a defibrillator near enough to that ride. Disney and the family eventually settled the lawsuit for undisclosed terms.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office reported that Reeb appeared to be conscious about 50 seconds before the ride ended because his photograph was taken as the coaster progressed toward the unloading area. The Sheriff's Office also said investigators think the ride was operating properly.
The Sheriff's Office said Reeb was visiting Disney World with family members. Its report also indicated that no one witnessed the cardiac arrest.
A Disney spokeswoman said the company has offered Reeb's family "our deepest sympathies" and assistance.
According to Reedy Creek reports, the emergency call came in about 11:26 a.m. The first report from the caller indicated Reeb had passed out and was unresponsive. Within a minute, the dispatcher was advised that Reeb was in cardiac or respiratory arrest. Paramedics arrived about 11:31. At 11:32, the Reedy Creek report indicates, "a defibrillator (AED) is not available."
Disney World officials said the ride had been inspected Tuesday morning and was operating properly. Disney closed the ride Tuesday after the incident to reconfirm its status.
The Sheriff's Office indicated it would conduct a routine investigation to determine the cause of death. In addition, Disney advised the Florida Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection of the incident.
The death is the first associated with Expedition Everest, which opened in early 2006 as a top attraction in Animal Kingdom. The ride, which reportedly cost $100 million, includes tight twists and turns and some backward travel, but it is not a particularly fast or steep roller coaster and has no loops. The top speed has been reported at 50 mph, and the largest drop is 80 feet.
John Gerard, a spokesman for the American Coaster Enthusiasts, a club for roller-coaster fans, described Expedition Everest as a "mildly thrilling roller coaster with some exciting elements, but it's obviously not one of the most intense roller coasters in the world."
Gerard, who is a medical doctor in San Diego, said he did not think the ride would be intense enough to cause a heart attack under normal circumstances. But he said certain pre-existing health conditions such as heart disease can entirely change the level of risk.
"They always say, 'Don't go on this if you have a heart condition,' " Gerard said. "It's a very tragic occurrence."
The death is the fourth associated with a Disney attraction this year. Most recently, a Disney ride attendant, Karen Price, 63, died Nov. 29 after an accident in which she was struck and knocked down by a ride car at Primeval Whirl in Animal Kingdom.
