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[Anthony]

Sad news coming from Walt Disney World.

Disney World crash: Monorail trains collide, killing one Disney employee

Two Walt Disney World monorail trains collided early Sunday morning, killing the operator of one of the trains.

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. A cast member who was piloting one of the monorails died at the scene of the accident, while another monorail driver was taken to the hospital. The second driver's injuries were not serious, Griffin said.

The trains were transporting guests leaving Epcot Center. Six park guests were on the train during the crash, but were not injured, Griffin said.

According to park schedules, Epcot closed Saturday at 10 p.m.

The wreck is the first fatal accident in the Walt Disney World monorail system's almost 38-year history, according to CFNews13.com. There has been at least one death on the Monorail System in Walt Disney Land, according to park historians.

Walt Disney World officials said they are working with law enforcement officials to find out what happened.

"Our heart goes out to the cast member and the family," Griffin said.

Epcot is scheduled to open on time at 9 a.m. today, but the monorail to the park will not be in service, according to a Walt Disney World spokewoman.

Walt Disney World released the following statement regarding the incident:

"Today, we mourn the loss of our fellow cast member. Our hearts go out to his family and to those who have lost a friend and co-worker. The safety of our guests and cast members is always our top priority. The monorail is out of service and we will continue to work closely with law enforcement to determine what happened and the approximate next steps." -- Mike Griffin, Walt Disney World Vice President of Public Affairs

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... 9336.story

Edit: A photo of the trains, should you want to see the damage:

[spoiler:1cdoxq75]
CNN


Source http://www.clickorlando.com/news/19954891/detail.html# via MiceChat, who guess the trains were moved inside to evacuate[/spoiler:1cdoxq75]

[Willow]

RIP to the CM.

It seems something went wrong, either operator error or the MAPO computer failed.

At least no guests weere injured as well as the crash looks pretty bad.

[MizzRabbit]

So sad! It's not often I've heard news of such horrible accidents on Disney ground and yes, fortunately no one else were injured. But poor CM. The crash looks really bad.

[RnRCj]

Man, that is really really bad. The other driver is very lucky to have made it out alive. A shame for the driver who was killed, and his friends and family.

[Javey74]

Pulling a positive out of a sad negative, the Monorails safety record is astounding, 38 years without a fatal accident, train company's would have been proud of that record.  

At the same time a fatal accident has happened, so condolencies to the bereaved families concerned.

[RnRCj]

Here's a short but chilling video of the two trains as they're being evacuated (it seems):

//http://www.clickorlando.com/video/19956043/index.html

Quite terrifying to know there is a dead driver in there.

[Aveen2008]

Aw no that is awful The poor Cast member and his family! My condolences to them and all the fellow cast members! However as others have said it is lucky and surprising that the other driver came out of it alive as it looks like such a bad crash.

RnRCj - That video is really hard to watch. I think Members of the public should have been told to move away from the Monorail and not have been allowed to go up to the front and look inside, even if they where trying to help because I think the least people seen the better.

Javey is right that their record for not having accidents is something to be proud of, it's very sad that this accident ended this way.

 

[Willow]

Its seems like it was Monorail controls fault.

Told one monorail to hit the override button and reverse as nothing was behind it. Unfortunately something was behind it....

I feel sorry for the driver who's monorail killed the CM. He must be feeling terrible.

[The Butlin Boy]

A truely tragic accident, at one of the happiest place on Earth. My thoughts are with the CMs family and friends during this tough time

[CentralPlazaPerson]

Very sad news indeed
My thoughts our with his family and friends..

[Anthony]

The monorail operator has been named as Austin Wuennenberg. He was 21 years old.

There's a photo here: http://www.wesh.com/news/19955188/detail.html

Not much more you can say. Just very, very sad. I really hope he had a lot of great times over there, and all involved are coping as best they can. Let's have another safe 40 years, please.

[CentralPlazaPerson]

It is so sad he died so very young! I'm sure he will be very missed by other CM at WDW.

[Willow]

Too young, probably on the college program, had such a bright future.

It could have been so much worse, looking at the wreckage I'm amazed only 1 person died.

I had to switch that video off, I found it really upsetting, and I've seen plenty of Theme Park failure videos over the years which hasn't effected me before.

It was so sad seeing people trying to help when there was nothing they could do.

_______

There are still a lot of unaswered questions, I eagerly await the results of the enquiry.

[-breeno-]

Terrible news to hear, my thoughts go out to the friends and family of the CM.

[Epcot_Boy]

The monorail operator has been named as Austin Wuennenberg. He was 21 years old.

Only just read this thread :shock:  21 is no age to pass away :x  Unfortunately fate is no repector of age :cry:

Considering the remarkable safety record of the monorail this is indeed tragic.

Epcot_Boy :ears: