Has the accident in Disneyland had any impact on Disney World

[disneywith6kids]

I'm wondering if they are checking all the rides very carefully at this point? Have they closed anything down since the accident? Anyone hear any updates? I'm so saddend to hear of this tragedy-I'm also frightened to ever ride this ride again.

 

[Cindy B]

Well considering the BTMRR was closed on 8/25 for an extended rehab.. I think its safe to say that it wasn't affected.

We drove the train around BTMRR on 8/29 and noticed that the track was up, caution tape all around and some construction workers near the cave...

And honestly, accidents happen. I remember a few tragic accidents at my local Six Flags.. yes they were 20 years ago, but it still happened. No, I am not afraid to ride Rolling Thunder or other coasters.

Unfortunately, sometimes the deaths/accidents occur because of the patrons on the ride. Some want to stand up on the lift hill of the coaster, and physically remove the restraints. Some people try to exit the log on Splash Mountain.. even after repeated warnings not to do so. Yes, this is tragic, but some people decided to go against warnings and unfortunately, injur or kill themselves in the process.

When a park has an accident, they tend to be overcautious, and that attraction, gets double/tripled checked and more spot checks.. believe it or not, that ride/attraction is even more safe than it was before.

You don't notice it, but there are safety checks in the rides.. both attendents check all the restraints before launching RnR.. you don't really notice it due to the other things going on, but it is done.. (that is because of clever cue lines!)


So in closing, don't be afraid. The safety checks will still occur ( more of them), and all that.

 

[kilee]

I wouldn't let the accident scare you away from these rides. I mean this ride has been in operation for what 20 some years. I think it was a freak thing. (The final report isn't even out yet). Car accidents kill people everyday and you still get in a car right? It isn't a repeated incident. I do feel it was tragic and feel terrible for the family. However, don't let this ruin the magic for you.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

being the cynic I am - I bet when all is done and over with they find that this person either tried to do get out of the car, stood up, or some other thing that contributed to his demise...

at 28 miles an hour - the top speed I have heard for thunder mountain - you'd have tosmack your head or have something penetrate an organ...

I've wiped out going 40 before on asphalt with no helmet and other then being bruised and road burned came out ok. I'd have to think that if you stayed in that car you would be ok at 28 miles per hour...especially at such a young age - the guy was 22 or something right? I mean you might get a strain or a muscle pull or maybe a mite whiplash - unless the train tipped over on its side or upside down in which case you could have your head slammed into something with little yopu could do about it.

as for me though? naw I am not afraid of riding the any ride at Disney. Since the park opening in 55 there have been ten deaths, not all ride related.... which means if I annualize that death rate... then disney is virtually one of the safest environments on the planet. More people will die in accidents this week in most any Large Metropolitan area then at Disney in almost 5 decades. More people will die in a car accident in my town this month then disney has seen its entire existance.

 

[Aisling]

I don't think I'm going to let the accident stop me from riding the same ride at WDW, but honestly I'll have to wait and see how I feel when I get there. I might think twice.

I thought I read that the train car derailed? If that's the case, I don't see how it could have been the guy's own fault, unless he upset the balance of the car somehow. I hope they release the details soon, because as tragic as it is, I'd rather it be because of rider misjudgement than mechanical failure.

 

[damo]

The locomotive detatched from the other cars. Then the two collided causing the injuries. Apparently it was a few hours before the removal of the deceased person in the front car. Initially, it was said he died from a cardiac arrest, but that is now being denied.

Several other people received lacerations and bruises. This accident was not caused by patron negligence but instead it was a mechanical malfunction.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

Originally posted by damo
The locomotive detatched from the other cars. Then the two collided causing the injuries. Apparently it was a few hours before the removal of the deceased person in the front car. Initially, it was said he died from a cardiac arrest, but that is now being denied.

Several other people received lacerations and bruises. This accident was not caused by patron negligence but instead it was a mechanical malfunction.

yeah so far I have read varying reports = one says the locomotive part detached - then another report where disney denies the locomotive detached - then the heart attack scenario you bring up which makes no sense I mean it was a 22 year old... I bungy jumped and came within feet of smacking the ground at 35 and didn't have a heart attack... something happened we don't know about yet... Literally though given the wide range of things said in the press and then changed I still stand firm that until the final events are disclosed (if they are even known at this moment)... until they come out with a final it will not suprise me in the least to find that as I said earlier that this guy did something to exacerbate or cause his own demise.

28 miles an hour - ok so lets say people as you said have lacerations and bruises...well bruising would be understandable....your being jostled around in the car hitting the side....lacerations would be understandable... hit an edge on the car or rub up against the other passengers stuff... If the train was fully off the track then you could be smashing against the interior walls...god forbid your arm was hangin outside the car...but those scrapes would lacerate and bruise...my kid was on a roller coater that the front end came off ... thing was hauling fast and came to screaming halt... not a single person hurt... if the front locomotive seperated... and then it would have had to go forward faster then the passenger section... it would then have to stop or be going slower for something to hit it... if it were at a standstill and the rest slammed into it... the front sections would absorb the more force and each respective car behind it would absord lessor and lessor amounts... I guess its possible that the guy in front did nothing to cause his demise... but Iwould be surprised... max speed of 28 ....22 year old body... if as you are saying it was stated in the press that they thought it was a heart attack... then that would infer that there was little external evidence of trauma... I guess he could have had his neck snapped...but they would have been able to figure that out pretty quick...I would think. My kid hauling in the front car of the roller coaster... that thing came to an instant stop..... everyones heads went jarring forward...

I don't know - what I have read of accident reports it just doesn't all add up yet. Now if the guy sees the locomotive in front of him and he is trying to unstrap himself and leap out of the train then yeah I could see the likelihood for a terminal injury... you essentially would be thrown into a large object...

but everyone sitting in the cars strapped in at 28mph....even with a compelet immediate stop from 28 miles an hour hitting something... I just don't see it.... now if you are 50 or 60 and not in good shape I could see that kind thrust forward and then the recoil would kill someone...

 

[Prince Eric1]

The last thing that Disney needs is any more negative impact on their parks. People can not be afraid by rare occurrences. How rare something like this happens, you can not let it affect your decisions. If you lived life like that, you would have to get rid of electricity for fear of fires, animals for fear of attack, and live in a plastic bubble for fear of disease. If they had a few rides a year with problems like this, that would be one thing, but it is definately not.

 

[tinawv]

Damo is correct. It was not do to the patron; at least not the patron who was killed. He was in the first car behind the locomotive that detached. Unfortunately, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. According to the Associated Press, the ride's locomotive separated from its train inside the tunnel and derailed. It also stated that officials did not know whether that caused the accident or was the result of it.

This is just a freak accident that can happen anywhere at anytime. Like the one poster stated, we take our lives in our own hands everytime we enter our car. I think that WDW has an excellent record, and this will not stop me from riding any of the rides. My heart and prayers go out to this young gentleman's family.

 

[Fantasmic303]

I've been trying to read everything to make this accident make sense to me. There's no way this guy deserved to die, but if I read somewhere that he was doing something that put himself at risk, it would make it...well, I guess it would just make it a different situation. I won't stop riding the coasters, I won't think twice about getting on a ride, I won't obsess about it....I'd just like to know exactly what happened.

Now, with that being said, the most sensible account I read said that the front car slammed into the fiberglass wall of the cave. I don't know the physics of it all, of course, but for my brain it make the picture a little clearer. I had a hard time picturing someone dying because the car derailed, even if it fell on top of him or threw him out or something. When I read the slamming through the wall scenario, however, it made a bit more sense, and also makes it more likely that other passengers wouldn't be as seriously hurt.

Like I said, I don't know the physics of it all and what kind of speed/force it would take for this kind of accident to cause death, but I thought I'd share. I think it was from a Miceage (or something like that) report that was linked on the board this morning.

 

[doombuggy]

then the heart attack scenario you bring up which makes no sense I mean it was a 22 year old...

I have to interject here that just b/c you are young doesn't mean that this can't happen to you. This happened to Sergi Grinkov ~ he was 28. He was a Russin figure skater, two time Olympic gold medialist with his wife, Ekaterina Gordeeva, in pairs figure skating.

 

[DebbieB]

http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al090603a.htm

>>>Apparently the "engine" had somewhat disintegrated during the sharp curve in the tunnel, and it appears that the first passenger vehicle behind it rammed in underneath it injuring the two riders in the first seat as its fiberglass shell disintegrated. It may well have been this impact that slammed the "engine" on down the track. Lap bars were found down and locked in place on all the passengers, including the two most badly injured in front.<<<

 

[Fantasmic303]

Thanks, Debbie. That was the report I had read. I made a mistake in saying that it was the wall, and not the shell, that the car rammed into, but the principle is the same. Thanks a lot for digging it up!!

 

[cinder1]

I've read everything I can find too. If I am understanding what I've read, there were two 22 yro men in the front car, the one that died and the 2nd most injured. The one who lived apparently had a lot of facial lacerations. If the fiberglass locomotive disintegrated, that could account for the lacerations and makes me wonder if maybe a shard of fiberglass somehow killed the other young man. I just wish they (media, Disney) would tell something of how he died. I find it weird that none of the other passengers have said anything. We will be there next month. We were bummed that BTMR was going to be closed for rehad, but I'm glad now. My kids love that ride, but I want to hear what happened before they ride again. Now I realize that they are pretty darn safe on anything at DW, but they are my kids. DH and I would probably ride if the kids weren't going.

I would almost feel better if it was a mechanical problem that caused the accident. If the accident was caused by the rider, there is nothing we can do about it on any ride. Mechanical problems will be addressed by Disney, but they certainly cannot fix rider stupidity. I will not be surprised if rider error played a part, but I have read nothing to suggest it so far.

 

[Synonymous]

28 miles an hour is plenty fast to kill somebody. Drive your car into a wall at 28 mph without an airbag or safety belt (a lap bar is not the same thing) and see what happens to you. It doesn't take much speed to do massive damage if circumstances are right.

And even if the person was doing something he shouldn't (which there is absolutely no reason to believe at this point), the design of the ride should not allow a passenger to derail the train.

 

[trstno1]

The rider could easily have died from something called 'comotio cordis.' This is caused by an impact to the chest, sometimes with seemingly low velocity and momentum, that by random chance comes within a certain time period in the heart's electrical cycle, and causes a fatal arrythmia.

Those of us who watch sports may recall having seen this happen. I remember a hockey player who was hit in the chest by a puck and suffered a cardiac arrest, and I also remember a baseball player who was hit by a ball.

I don't know that this poor man died because of comotio cordis, but it is certainly possible to die from a seemingly small amount of trauma.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

Thats fascinating -

Originally posted by trstno1
The rider could easily have died from something called 'comotio cordis.' This is caused by an impact to the chest, sometimes with seemingly low velocity and momentum, that by random chance comes within a certain time period in the heart's electrical cycle, and causes a fatal arrythmia.

 

[BossBrody]

If the locomotive disintergrated, then a shard of fiberglass or supporting skeleton underneath could of impaled the young man. I read early on that he had some major organ damage. Perhaps this was responsible instead of simple blunt trauma.

Seems strange that the locomotive could fall apart though. (If that is what happened) Wouldn't it show obvious signs of wear or stress before coming apart? I wonder if the locomotive is not inspected as often, or as close because it doesn't carry passengers? I dont' mean it's running gear, like wheels and brakes, but it's internal parts, like under the boiler or even the smokestack.

Very sad nonetheless. Hopefully something good will come from the accident. Either improved maintance/safety checks or a better design. Too bad a death is responsible for any changes.

One other thing, the new Everest Expedition has a similar concept, with a fake locomotive and cars. I wonder if this accident will cause changes in it's design or safety measures?

 

[alvernon90]

According to the reports at another web site, which is trying to piece together a theory that fits all of the seemingly conflicting information, one possible scenario is this:

The locomotive somehow came detached and moved forward as the passenger train failed to clear a hill and rolled backward. Then the locomotive, which has no brakes or "clack clack clack" anti-rollback devices, also rolled backward and smashed into the passenger train. That impact alone wouldn't do much more than jolt passengers and causes bruises (which is what happened to the vast majority of the injured riders). But if the fiberglass locomotive broke apart when it hit the passenger cars, flying debris could injure the people in the front seat.

This is pure speculation. I have no knowledge of what happened. But it at least fits well with most of the reports about the tragedy.

 

[kidzmom3]

patients who are found in cardiac arrest after a trauma have an almost zero survival rate. Causes of a traumatic arrest can be: 1.hypoxic arrest: Reduction of oxygen supply to tissue below physiological levels despite adequate perfusion of the tissue by blood. (cf. Anoxia).
2. Tension pneumothorax: A variety of spontaneous pneumothorax in which air enters the pleural cavity and is trapped during expiration; intrathoracic pressure builds to values higher than atmospheric pressure, compresses the lung, and may displace the mediastinum and its structures toward the opposite side, with consequent disadvantageous effects on blood flow. pneumothorax is a collapsed lung.
3. Massive haemorrhage

4. cardiac tamponade
Interference with the venous return of blood to the heart due to an extensive accumulation of blood in the pericardium (pericardial effusion). Tamponade may occur as a complication of dissecting thoracic aneurysm, pericarditis, renal failure, acute myocardial infarction, hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease (for example lupus), chest trauma or a malignancy. Fluid in the pericardial sac is demonstrated by echocardiogram. Treatment involves the emergent removal of the fluid. This may be accomplished by a needle aspiration technique or emergency surgery (pericardial window).





A traumatic arrest can happen to anyone even a child

"Injury is the most common cause of death in the pediatric population. Blunt injuries, which are usually motor vehicle related, are more common than penetrating injuries, but the latter are unfortunately becoming more common. If a child has multiple injuries or bruises in varying stages of resolution, consider child abuse (see appendix) as a possible etiology. The death rate from traumatic injury in children is two times that of the adult patient. To resuscitate a pediatric traumatic arrest victim, aggressive in-hospital management, often times open thoracotomy, is required. The more prolonged the field time and the transport to the medical facility, the less likely the child is to survive.
"