Posted on 06/30/2006 12:47:57 AM PDT by bd476
WKRN Nashville
June 29, 2006, 11:30 pm
(AP) Ft. Campbell boy dies after riding Disney World roller coaster
By TRAVIS REED
Associated Press Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
A 12-year-old Kentucky boy died after riding a roller coaster Thursday at the Disney-MGM theme park, the latest in a string of tragedies that have stung Walt Disney World in recent years.
Michael Russell of Fort Campbell had ridden the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster with his parents and 7-year-old brother.
When the minute-long ride was finished, the father noticed his son was limp. Byron Russell pulled Michael off the ride and started to perform CPR until paramedics arrived, said Barbara Miller, Orange County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
The boy was pronounced dead after he was taken by ambulance to Celebration Hospital at about 11:30 a.m., Disney said in a statement. No cause of death could be immediately determined.
"According to the family, he was a very healthy child," Miller said. "The father repeated that he was healthy, he had no problems."
The boy's father is a member of the 5th Special Forces Group based at the Army post straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
State officials say he is the ninth person to die at Disney World since 2003. At least 15 people have died at Disney's two theme parks in Florida and California since 1989. At least some of the victims had pre-existing health conditions.
Disney said a preliminary investigation showed the roller coaster was operating normally, but the company closed it pending full results. The attraction, which blasts riders from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and through high-speed loops, requires that guests must be at least four-feet tall.
Florida law exempts large, permanent amusement parks that have their own safety inspectors from state oversight, but Disney invited the Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection to monitor the review, the company said.
The sheriff's office was investigating at the scene and state park safety officials were notified.
"Our deepest concerns are with the family," Disneyspokesman Jacob DiPietre said. "Disney cast members are with them providing any assistance that we can provide."
Most of Disney's recent troubles have been over another ride _ Epcot's "Mission: Space," a rocketship attraction that simulates a flight to Mars. Two people have died in the last 12 months after going on the ride, which spins in a centrifuge that subjects riders to twice the normal force of gravity. Disney has since unveiled a tamer version that does not spin.
Daudi Bamuwamye, 4, of Sellersville, Pa., died June 13, 2005 of an irregular heartbeat linked to an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle that can cause sudden death, an autopsy showed. His family earlier this month filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney seeking unspecified damages.
In April, a 49-year-old woman from Germany became ill and died after the ride. A medical examiner's report said she died from bleeding of the brain and had severe, long-standing high blood pressure.
Some of the other deaths include:
_ A 12-year-old from Newport News, Va., died after she collapsed at Typhoon Lagoon water park last August. Medical officials determined Jerra Kirby died from arrhythmia caused by an early stage viral heart infection.
_ A Disney worker dressed as Pluto was run over and killed by a float as itentered a Magic Kingdom parade in 2004.
Additionally, a 16-year-old British girl suffered cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated shortly after she rode "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" at Disney-MGM last year. She remained in critical condition months later and had to be flown home by air ambulance.
Tourists at MGM Thursday told the Orlando Sentinel the death made them concerned about the rides.
"It seems like things have changed a lot in respect to safety. I'll tell you I'm not surprised that this has happened," Larry Wagner, of Louisiana, said.
Eugena Pruitt, of Virginia, said three deaths in one year was higher than average.
"They should inspect and find out what is causing the deaths," Pruitt said.
Theme park consultants told The Associated Press the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was fairly tame.
"As roller coasters go that is not considered an ultra, ultra high-thrill coaster. It does have some high launch speeds, but it's more along the traditional lines of what roller coasters are today," said David Speigel, president of Cincinnati-based International Theme Park Services Inc. "I would have to classify this as an anomaly, highly unusual and certainly out of sorts for Disney."
Orlando-based theme park consultant Steve Baker said he didn't think the recentdeaths would deter tourists from visiting Disney.
"I think people are going to be concerned, but I don't think it's going to make people change their vacation plans," said Baker, president of Baker Leisure Group Inc.
"That roller coaster is not an extreme roller coaster."
___
Associated Press Writer Kelli Kennedy in Miami contributed to this report.
It is very sad. Continuing prayers for the boy's family.
The name SheiKra evokes the power and speed of an African hawk as it twists and plunges - giving riders a 70 mph, adrenaline-pumping experience like no other. At 200 feet, SheiKra now takes the crown as Florida's tallest roller coaster. This thrill machine is also the tallest dive coaster in the world and the first of its kind to incorporate an Immelmann loop (a rolling maneuver), a second, 138-foot dive into an underground tunnel and a water-feature finale. SheiKra offers three minutes of over-the-edge excitement on more than half a mile of steel track. You must be 54 inches tall to ride SheiKra.
Don't know where these folks are from but on thing many people from up north forget is that its hot in Florida. Sounds trite but the combination of heat, humidity, and sun can get a lot of people off guard. The parks are especially hard because of the crowds and other factors they bring in.
Mission Space is at a different park. Most people dont make 2 parks on the same day so I doubt this is true.
Mission Space is at Epcot.
So sad. It could have been hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic290.htm
"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic disorder that typically is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion with variable penetrance and variable expressivity. The disease has complex symptomatology and potentially devastating consequences for patients and their families. The disorder has a variable presentation and carries a high incidence of sudden death. In fact, HCM is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in both preadolescent and adolescent children."
"A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants".
I was just there a couple of weeks ago and my wife and I got the "park hopper" ticket. We rode both these rides the same day (as well as the safari!).
knarf said, "We are becoming a soft people."
The boy may have had a heart defect or something but I do not believe that the son of a member of the 5th Special Forces group would be soft. I knew some of these guys when I lived in Clarksville, they do not raise there children to be soft.
Tragic that these kids just drop dead during sports etc. with no previous history. The ones that are lucky are the ones that have been able to find out ahead of time so that can have the surgery to have the defibrillators put in before something happens.
I have an almost 12 year old son and I can't begin to imagine the pain that the family must be going through.
I agree. I rode it two weeks ago and it did not impress me. I also rode the Mars mission prior to it and it was a big yawn. The new ride Everest was a disappointment. Space Mountain still is the king of the hill at Disney.
The 5 Gs (which I'd question) is not even long enough to make you put your arm down. The acceleration, with a full neck support, is a couple of Gs far a few seconds at start-up.
I did a search on the boy's name to see if they found out
why he died. Whoa, the first hit - a Sgt. 1st Class Michael Russell died in Afghanistan in a helicoptor crash June 28, 2005.
Eerie..
Autopsy: Boy at Disney had heart defect
By TRAVIS REED, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The 12-year-old boy who died after riding a Walt Disney World roller coaster had a congenital heart defect, a medical examiner ruled Friday.
The autopsy of Michael Russell was done one day after he passed out while riding Disney-MGM's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. His father, an Iraq war veteran, performed CPR on the boy, but Michael was pronounced dead at a hospital.
"No evidence of injury was found but congenital heart abnormalities were detected, which will be further evaluated," the Orange County medical examiner's office said in a statement.
The cause of death was left pending until additional test are conducted, Dr. Sara H. Irrgang, an associate medical examiner, ruled.
Disney World reopened the coaster Friday after determining that nothing mechanical caused the boy's death. A Disney Web site description of the ride says: "Zoom from 0-60 mph with the force of a supersonic F-14, take in high-speed loops and turns synchronized to a specially recorded Aerosmith soundtrack."
"Walt Disney World engineers and ride system experts completed a thorough inspection of the attraction overnight and found it to be operating properly," the company said in a statement. "A representative from the state Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection observed the ride inspection and testing."
Disney and other large amusement parks are exempt from state oversight, but Disney has allowed government inspectors to watch after fatalities.
The boy's father, Byron Russell, noticed that Michael became limp while they rode the coaster along with his mother and 7-year-old brother. When the minute-long ride finished, Russell pulled Michael off and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, said Barbara Miller, Orange County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
Miller said Russell told officials that the boy was healthy and that the family didn't know of any underlying medical problems.
The company and military said they were assisting the family.
The father is a part of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) based at Fort Campbell, Ky., and served in Iraq, said special forces Command spokesman Maj. Jim Gregory.
"You can't even put words to how devastating this would be," Gregory said.
Michael's death was the latest in a string of tragedies at Walt Disney World in recent years. At least 15 people have died at Disney's theme parks in Florida and California since 1989, including some with pre-existing health conditions. Disney-MGM is among Disney's four Florida parks.
Most of the company's recent troubles have been over another ride — Epcot's "Mission: Space," a rocketship attraction that simulates a flight to Mars.
Two people have died in the last year after going on the ride, which spins in a centrifuge that subjects riders to twice the normal force of gravity. Now Disney offers people an option to ride a tamer version of the ride that does not spin.
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