Very sad news from WDW today. For the first time in 38 years a deadly accident happened between two monorails and a 21 years old monorail driver died.
"A monorail train at Walt Disney World crashed into the back of another train early Sunday, killing one driver, according to an amusement park spokesman and a witness interviewed by CNN.
The crash occurred about 2 a.m. at one of the monorail stops at Disney World in Florida, said the witness, who requested anonymity.
Walt Disney World spokesman Mike Griffin said the crash happened at about 2 a.m. Sunday, on one of the monorail's last runs of the day.
Austin Wenneberg, 21, a Disney employee who was piloting one of the monorails died at the scene of the accident, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said. One other employee was transported to Florida Hospital Celebration. The second driver's injuries were not serious, Griffin said.
"Today we mourn the loss of our fellow cast member," said a statement by Mike Griffin, Disney's vice president for public affairs. "Our hearts go out to his family and to those who have lost a friend and co-worker."
The statement said the monorail was shut down, "and we will continue to work closely will law enforcement to determine what happened and the appropriate next steps."
The witness said one monorail train rammed into the back of a stationary train. A photo of the crash provided by the witness showed the front car of a train badly damaged where it hit another train at a station.
According to the witness, a family of six in one train was freed from a damaged car. The witness said the family was shaken but uninjured."
All Disney and more condolences goes to the family of the cast member who died in this dreadful accident.
You can read more infos about what happen on Mice Chat or the Orlando Sentinel. However a former WDW monorail pilot just released this interesting video explaining how the accident probably happened.
Leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat
Text From CNN.com and Orlando Sentinel
Picture from CNN.com
The former video shoot seconds after the crash has been removed from Youtube. The original video is at www.clickorlando.com
