Deaths in Disneyland

Supernatural: The Remington Files
GM
Lisa
Air Time
Intermittent
Next Episode
Season 4, Episode 1
(November 2011)
Characters
Team Remington Scott Remington · Marcus Remington Amanda Grey A Dose of Doctors Dr. Alexander Airy · Dr. Richard Magnum The X-Files Ciaran Brennan · Jon Clarke Razik Ericson
Supporting Characters
Áine Ni Seachnasaigh Gabriel, aka Loki
Deceased Characters
Archangel Raphael
Episodes
Episode Guide · Synchronizing Serials
Resources
Contacts · Lore Index John Remington's Journal Aunt Agatha's Book Supernatural Ritual Compendium Roman Rite 1999 English Edition

Deaths in Disneyland

The Matterhorn • In 1964, a 15-year-old boy was injured after he stood up in the Matterhorn Bobsleds and fell out. It was reported that his restraint was undone by his ride companion. He died three days later as a result of those injuries.[23]

Monorail • On a Grad Nite in 1966, a 19-year-old-male was killed while attempting to sneak into the park by climbing onto the monorail track, ignoring the shouted warnings of a security guard, he was struck by the train and dragged 30 to 40 feet down the track.[23]

PeopleMover • In August 1967, a 17-year-old boy was killed while jumping between two moving PeopleMover cars as the ride was passing through a tunnel. He stumbled and fell onto the track, where an oncoming train of cars crushed him beneath its wheels and dragged his body a few hundred feet before it was stopped by a ride operator. The attraction had only been open for one month at the time.[27]

Rivers of America • In June 1973, an 18-year-old man drowned while attempting to swim across the "Rivers of America". He and his 10-year-old brother stayed on Tom Sawyer's Island past closing time by hiding in an area that is off-limits to guests. When they wanted to leave the island, they decided to swim across the river even though the younger brother did not know how to swim. The victim attempted to carry his younger brother on his back and drowned halfway across. His body was found the next morning. The younger brother was able to stay afloat by "dog paddling" until a ride operator rescued him.[27]

America Sings • On July 8, 1974, an 18-year-old employee was crushed to death between a revolving wall and a stationary platform inside the America Sings attraction. She was in the wrong place during a ride intermission; it was unclear whether this was due to inadequate training or a misstep. The attraction was subsequently refitted with breakaway walls. The ride was only open two weeks before the death. They closed the ride for two days.[10]

Space Mountain' • On August 14, 1979, a 31-year-old woman became ill after riding Space Mountain. At the unload area, she was unable to exit the vehicle. Although employees told her to stay seated while the vehicle was removed from the track, other ride operators did not realize that her vehicle was supposed to be removed and sent it through the ride a second time. She arrived at the unloading zone semi-conscious. The victim was subsequently taken to Palm Harbor Hospital where she remained in a coma and died one week later. The coroner's report attributed the death to natural causes: a heart tumor had dislodged and entered her brain. A subsequent lawsuit against the park was dismissed.[33] • On June 7, 1980, an 18-year-old man was crushed and killed by the PeopleMover while jumping between moving cars. The accident occurred as the ride entered the SuperSpeed tunnel.[28] • On June 4, 1983, an 18-year-old man drowned in the Rivers of America while trying to pilot a rubber emergency boat from Tom Sawyer's Island that he and a friend had stolen from a "cast members only" area of the island.[24] • On January 3, 1984, a 48-year-old woman was killed when she was thrown from a Matterhorn Bobsled car and struck by the next oncoming bobsled.[24][25] An investigation found that her seatbelt was not buckled. It is unclear whether the victim deliberately unfastened her belt or if the seatbelt malfunctioned.[26

Columbia • On December 24, 1998, a heavy metal cleat fastened to the hull of the Sailing Ship Columbia tore loose, striking one employee and two park guests. One of the guests, a 33-year-old man, died of a head injury. The normal tie line, an inelastic hemp rope designed to break easily, was improperly replaced for financial reasons by an elastic nylon rope which stretched and tore the cleat from the ship's wooden hull. Disney received much criticism for this incident due to its alleged policy of restricting outside medical personnel in the park to avoid frightening visitors, as well as for the fact that the employee in charge of the ship at the time had not been trained in its operation.[14] After this incident, Disney reinstated lead foremen on most rides and the Anaheim police department placed officers in the park to speed response.[15] This accident resulted in the first guest death in Disneyland's history that was not attributable to any negligence on the part of the guest. California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health investigated the incident and found fault with the training of the park employee who placed the docking line on the cleat. The cleat was not designed to help brake the ship and the employee should have been trained to recognize when the ship was approaching too fast. Ride procedures called for the ship's captain to reverse the ship if it overshot the dock and re-approach the dock at the correct speed. Disney was fined US$12,500 by Cal/OSHA and settled a lawsuit brought by the victim's survivors for an estimated US$25,000,000.[16]

Indiana Jones Adventure • On June 25, 2000, a 23-year-old woman exited the Indiana Jones ride complaining of a severe headache. She was hospitalized later that day where it was discovered that she had a brain hemorrhage. She died on September 1, 2000 of a cerebral aneurysm.[18] Her family's subsequent wrongful death lawsuit against Disney stated that the victim died due to "violent shaking and stresses imposed by the ride." In an interlocutory appeal (an appeal of a legal issue within the case prior to a decision on the case's merits), the California Supreme Court held that amusement parks are considered "common carriers" similar to commercially operated planes, trains, elevators and ski lifts. This ruling imposes a heightened duty of care on amusement parks and requires them to provide the same degree of care and safety as other common carriers.[19][20] Disney settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum after the interlocutory appeal but before a decision was rendered on the case's merits. The victim's medical costs were estimated at more than US$1.3 million.[21]

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin • On September 22, 2000, a 4-year-old boy fell out of the ride vehicle and was dragged underneath the car, causing serious internal injuries, cardiac arrest and brain damage.[29] On October 7, 2000, Disneyland changed its emergency policy and began instructing ride operators to call 911 first, instead of the Disney security center, in order to speed emergency staff to any incident on park property. Records showed that more than five minutes passed between the time the victim fell out of the ride vehicle and emergency personnel were contacted. A Disney spokesman claimed that the timing of this policy change and this incident were coincidental.[15] An investigation ending in December 2000 concluded that a lap bar had malfunctioned and the victim was placed in the wrong seat in the ride vehicle, too close to the opening.[30] Three months after the incident, the Permanent Ride Amusement branch of California's Division of Occupational Safety instructed Disney to install additional safety features on the ride.[31] In January 2002, Disney settled with the victim's family, based on the cost of the victim's continuing medical care and suffering; Disney was not required to accept blame.[30]The victim never fully recovered from his injuries and died in January 2009.[30]

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad • On September 5, 2003, a 22-year-old man died after suffering severe blunt trauma and extensive internal bleeding in a derailment of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster that also injured 10 other riders.[11] The cause of the accident was determined to be improper maintenance.[12]Investigation reports and discovery by the victim's attorney confirmed the fatal injuries occurred when the first passenger car collided with the underside of the locomotive. The derailment was the result of a mechanical failure which occurred due to omissions during a maintenance procedure. Fasteners on the left side upstop/guide wheel on the floating axle of the locomotive were not tightened and safetied in accordance with specifications. As the train entered a tunnel the axle came loose and jammed against a brake section, causing the locomotive to become airborne and hit the ceiling of the tunnel. The locomotive then fell on top of the first passenger car, crushing the victim.[13]