Man dies after falling onto Mummy track

[F-L-A]

It was to have been Jose Valadez's one day of fun.

After he spent the better part of a year indoors -- visiting doctors, lining up referrals and filling out forms, all in hopes of getting on a waiting list for a liver transplant -- his wife decided he need a day in the sun at Universal Studios.

She pushed him from ride to ride in a rented wheelchair. When they arrived at the Revenge of the Mummy, the park's newest indoor thrill coaster, she waited outside with the chair.

He walked in.

"I waited and waited and waited for him," Paula Valadez said. "He never came out."

Jose Valadez, 39, of Apopka died Wednesday morning after surgery at Orlando Regional Medical Center, a day after falling from the Mummy's loading platform onto the tracks 4 feet below while boarding the ride.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-locmummy23092304sep23,1,482805.story?coll=orl-news-headlines

Tragic, but Universal can't be blamed. The queue is wheelchair-accesible. Should have stayed in it.

 

[dislvr75]

I am very sorry for this man and his family. He was out for a day of fun with fatal consequencces.

I am confused though. Exactly how did this happen?? For those of you who have ridden the Mummy, like most other rides, doesn't the ride itself take up all of the open space over the track when you are boarding?? Did he fall off the other side???

I will certanly be looking when I visit in a few weeks, I'm just very confused as to how something like that might have happened?

Could someone please explain?

 

[Cindy B]

So he walked in, without his wheelchair?

Did he fall onto the tracks? Was he in a wheelchair line? Did he not stay within the track lines? Those are pretty secure, and the employees do a great job of keeping people back. Maybe he didn't listen and leaned over, and then fell.

He must have fallen gotten, up, and went to the hospital later because he died the next day.

However tragic, he fell four feet (hats about what, falling about four steps? just guessing?). He could have fallen that four feet anywhere, in him home even.

Sounds like guest error, instead of Mummy error. Why didn't wife push him in his chair?

 

[Metallicat]

OMG! I feel so bad for his wife. I cannot imagine how she must have felt. after what he had been through, its so sad. really sad.
I imagine the cm's were really shook upwhen they saw what happened. what a terrible situation for all involved

 

[Metallicat]

I'm thinking that since he was sick to begin with, that even a small fall may have injured him enough to kill him. a few weeks back one of my DH's best pals died when he fell out of bed. he had throat cancer pretty bad so the slightest injury from falling caused him to die.

people have been known to get killed on rides. I remember awhile back a man died after getting out of a boat on splash mtn. I remember years ago hearing a man somehow managed to stand up on space mtn. and hit his head. I don't know if he died or not, but people do have to take a little responsibility for themselves even when they are in theme parks where they feel safe and happy.

 

[phamton]

He had surgery to remove his spleen and died from complications from Hepatitis C, which he had been suffering from. He was very ill and was waiting for a liver transplant.

If you read the entire article that is linked above, you will see that his wife didn't know it was wheelchair accessible even though it is posted out front of the ride that it is. She waited outside the ride with his wheelchair while he walked in. He tripped and fell forward 4 feet onto the track in front of the car at the gate when he was boarding the vehicle. The vehicle was not moving. He did not get up but awaited an ambulance. He died the next day during surgery. His wife has said she is not going to sue, according to the article.

The employees are very upset, including my son who witnessed the accident. My prayers are with the family and friends of Mr. Valadez.

Here is a quote from the article on how he fell:
"Guests wait between small barriers, separated from the track area by a swinging 42-inch-high metal and plastic gate. The car arrives, the gate swings out and guests step in.

In the line for the front row, the open gate creates a wall, keeping boarders from falling in front of the car into a 4-foot-deep channel that houses the tracks.

Most of the gate is made up of solid metal bars. But a foot-long part of the gate that sits nearest to the car is made of flexible plastic.

Schroder said it was unclear how Valadez fell. He did not know why the gate designers used flexible plastic."

 

[kellymonaghan]

It certainly sounds from the article that the fault lay more with the surgery than the fall.

But "Mans Dies On Mummy" is a sexier angle for a news story. Remember, too, the Sentinel's hate-hate relationship with Orlando's tourism industry.

My prayers are with the Valadez family.

 

[Robinrs]

Sad...

I agree, kelly, the angle is way more "news"worthy.

 

[F-L-A]

Now they're reporting a girl got her arm caught in a handrail and they closed the ride down again for it. What in the world? Do people leave their common sense at the entrance? And what does the handrail have to do with the ride?

 

[2BigKIdz]

That is really sad. But I am confused as to how it happened. I don't see why he would have been in front of the vehicle.

 

[kellymonaghan]

The Sentinel's follow-up article is headlined: "Death on 'Mummy' Ride Ruled Accidental."

I suppose "Death in Hospital After Surgery After Fall on 'Mummy' Ride Ruled Accidental" just didn't fit. And it never seemed to occur to the Sentinel reporter that something could have gone very wrong in surgery. Instead, the focus is squarely on Universal. Hmmm.

Here's the link:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...513.story?coll=orl-business-headlines-tourism

 

[kellymonaghan]

Here's a link to the report on the woman who was injured:

http://www.local6.com/news/3756327/detail.html

 

[Tinkbell]

Sad story. I'm sure his wife feels terribly guilty.

 

[F-L-A]

I don't read a single article those idiots write up. They can't even decide how old he is. I know someone who works on the Mummy, and they said the girl who got her arm stuck was in such bad condition, that she rode the ride multiple times afterward and even bought her picture on it. But the papers love drama....

 

[ksdave]

DATELINE UNIVERSAL: MAN DIES AFTER RIDING JAWS AT USF!

Bob Smith, a 92-year-old farmer from Pigs Knuckle, AR, died today, shortly after riding the Jaws attraction at Universal Studios Florida. His widow, Mabel, said Bob loved that ride and always talked about how realistic he thought the shark looked.
"Bob just told me the other day how much he enjoyed riding that ride on our last trip to Orlando in 1993", said Mabel in a telephone call from their farm in Arkansas. Although she said no charges should be brought against Universal for Bob's death, it is the third time this year that someone who rode the Jaws ride in 1993 has been known to die shortly after talking about it.
This publication challenges the management of this so-called themepark to investigate these dangerous conditions that are causing these sudden, unexplained deaths of such young, healthy people.
Universal is a wholly owned subsidiary of NBC Entertainment (that NY gang).

 

[phamton]

I first read this as a real news story and was thinking "Wait a minute Jaws is down for rehab." Then I re-read it and saw the joke. Duh!

I'm stealing this and posting it on IOACentral.

 

[F-L-A]

You forgot to give him two different last names and ages.

 

[Duck/Fish]

The news coverage of that was just awful. I can see maybe posting 2 different ages in different articles, but in the SAME one? Isn't there a proofreader?

I do feel bad for this man's wife though.

 

[Dznefreek]

He died from complications in the surgery do to his Hep C, not the fall.

 

[buzz2400]

Interesting website to check out: www.rideaccidents.com
Lists all kinds of people getting killed or hurt on amusement and carnival rides.