5 injured in bus crash near Epcot

timekeeper · Post by **timekeeper** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 2:06 pm

http://www.wesh.com/news/22921301/detail.html

From Wesh:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Disney bus was involved in a crash with a second bus at a toll plaza at Epcot Center Tuesday afternoon.

A Disney bus is involved in a crash near the entrance to Epcot.

Authorities said one of the buses rear-ended another at the entrance to park's parking lot.

One person was transported to a hospital in very serious condition, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Orange County fire officials said they have an "extended operation" taking place and have five patients.

A helicopter was dispatched to the scene to assist with patient transport.

Stay with WESH 2 News and WESH.com for further details.

emnbensdad · Post by **emnbensdad** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 2:10 pm

Saw some of the video and pics from the crash. Pray everyone does okay.

Post by **Len90** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 2:31 pm

Wow that is a horrendous looking crash. It appears to be a Nova bus involved for Disney and some sort of older tour bus. I hope everybody is okay and I really hope there is a full investigation. This wasn't just a little bump. There was A LOT of force involved.

MadEye · Post by **MadEye** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 2:43 pm

8 people are confirmed injured.

I have a feeling the charter bus driver had no clue what they were doing and slowed down to the point where the Disney bus couldn't stop in time. That is my opinion of course, so we'll have to wait for a confirmation on what happened.

WVParkfan · Post by **WVParkfan** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 2:50 pm

That's horrible! The pictures look like the entire front of the Disney Bus is gone. How can something like this happen? Prayers for the families.

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 3:00 pm

That looked pretty nasty!! We will be praying for all involved!

MadEye · Post by **MadEye** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 3:10 pm

WVParkfan wrote:That's horrible! The pictures look like the entire front of the Disney Bus is gone. How can something like this happen? Prayers for the families.

The front is still there, just very busted inward. Something like this happens on a monthly/weekly basis around the world. It only made the news because it happened on Disney property. There have been plenty of accidents not on Disney property more brutal (for lack of a better word) than this one that none of us have heard of around the world, I guarantee it.

kcarts · Post by **kcarts** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 4:12 pm

MadEye wrote: Something like this happens on a monthly/weekly basis around the world. It only made the news because it happened on Disney property. There have been plenty of accidents not on Disney property more brutal (for lack of a better word) than this one that none of us have heard of around the world, I guarantee it.

Happens daily in Boston. I imagine hourly in NYC.

Still hope everyone is OK.

Anyone know what Disney does for the people who were on the bus? I don't mean immediately but afterward?

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Mar Tue 23, 2010 9:40 pm

kcarts wrote:
MadEye wrote: Something like this happens on a monthly/weekly basis around the world. It only made the news because it happened on Disney property. There have been plenty of accidents not on Disney property more brutal (for lack of a better word) than this one that none of us have heard of around the world, I guarantee it.
Happens daily in Boston. I imagine hourly in NYC.

Still hope everyone is OK.

Anyone know what Disney does for the people who were on the bus? I don't mean immediately but afterward?

Pay them off to keep it all hush hush!

Post by **Len90** » Mar Wed 24, 2010 12:03 am

Well here is the latest on the story: http://thedailydisney.com/blog/2010/03/ ... ear-epcot/

Eight people were hurt when two buses crashed Tuesday near Epcot, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
A Walt Disney World bus going an estimated 30 to 35 mph hit the back of an empty tour bus for Waldorf Astoria Orlando about 2:30 p.m., said Sgt. Kim Miller, a highway patrol spokeswoman.
The Waldorf Astoria bus had stopped in a right-hand lane near the parking toll plaza, apparently because of mechanical trouble, Miller said. Investigators donâ€™t think the Disney bus driver applied his brakes, she said.
When rescue crews arrive, the passengers already were out of the Disney bus, said Deputy Chief Bo Jones of the Reedy Creek Fire Department. The driver, Jean G. Valentin of Orlando, was conscious but trapped behind the wheel.
It took firefighters about 15 minutes to cut through the front of the bus and free Valentin, who is in his early 40s. He was taken by helicopter to Orlando Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. An ORMC spokesman could not say whether Valentin remained hospitalized Tuesday night.
Four passengers â€” Justin Arntz, 15, of Denver, Jeremy Abbott, 16, of Maumelle, Ark., Leonard Adamczk, 46, of Cheektowaga, N.Y., and Karl Fangmann, 34, of Rio Rancho, N.M., â€” were transported by ambulance to Florida Hospital Celebration.
A hospital spokeswoman had a record on only of Jeremy, who remained hospitalized fair condition.
Three passengers â€” Ann Hackett, 59, Tom Hackett, 60, and Ivan Marriott, 5, all of Columbus, Ohio â€” were taken to Dr. P. Phillips Hospital. They were treated and released, a spokeswoman said.
The driver of the Waldorf Astoria bus, Deborah Martin, 57, of Ocoee, was outside the vehicle when the accident happened and was not injured.
â€œWeâ€™re currently focusing on the well-being of those involved in this situation and weâ€™re working closely with law enforcement on the matter,â€

Pluto23 · Post by **Pluto23** » Mar Wed 24, 2010 6:26 am

I hate to see/hear this. It seems that over the last year, there have been more accidents than I can ever remember hearing about. Monorail, Primevil Whirl, another bus incident, the speedway, and others. I'm sure in the entire scheme of things, very little happens when you are moving 15 million people through DisneyWorld. I hope we have send the end of a string of events.

kcarts · Post by **kcarts** » Mar Wed 24, 2010 9:19 am

Pluto23 wrote:I hate to see/hear this. It seems that over the last year, there have been more accidents than I can ever remember hearing about. Monorail, Primevil Whirl, another bus incident, the speedway, and others. I'm sure in the entire scheme of things, very little happens when you are moving 15 million people through DisneyWorld. I hope we have send the end of a string of events.

Over 300 buses, a marine fleet larger than some non-land locked countries (many operated by guests), 11 monorails, who knows how many golf carts (again some used by guests) and countless POV's all moving around an area (not nearly as congested) the size of Manhattan....

I'm surprised we don't hear of more incidents like this.

Post by **Len90** » Mar Wed 24, 2010 12:46 pm

kcarts wrote:
Pluto23 wrote:I hate to see/hear this. It seems that over the last year, there have been more accidents than I can ever remember hearing about. Monorail, Primevil Whirl, another bus incident, the speedway, and others. I'm sure in the entire scheme of things, very little happens when you are moving 15 million people through DisneyWorld. I hope we have send the end of a string of events.
Over 300 buses, a marine fleet larger than some non-land locked countries (many operated by guests), 11 monorails, who knows how many golf carts (again some used by guests) and countless POV's all moving around an area (not nearly as congested) the size of Manhattan....

I'm surprised we don't hear of more incidents like this.

You make a great point. I do think that this should be realized but remember this is a vacation resort. People expect nothing to go wrong and none of the "real world" issues like this to take place. Disney has a massive transportation system. Overall, I believe they have one of the cleanest operating records. The monorail in WDW has only claimed 1 life since the park opening. There have been more people killed in car accidents in America in the past ten minutes.

Polynesian Princess · Post by **Polynesian Princess** » Mar Wed 24, 2010 8:26 pm

kcarts wrote:I'm surprised we don't hear of more incidents like this.

Well we don't hear about everything that happens - it only makes news if it's interesting or someone gets hurt. We saw a Disney bus wreck when pulling in to pick up guests at Animal Kingdom earlier this month. Everyone was fine and there was a CM that came over and stood next to those of us waiting in the line and talked to us all - basically doing damage control by telling us what happened, that everyone's fine, and discourage pictures because of him hovering right there. I'd be curious to find out how many little things like this happen that you don't even hear about.

Post by **Len90** » Mar Thu 25, 2010 1:00 am

They released a 911 call today. It seems like it was a bus dispatcher for the the bus that was rear ended who called 911. Details were sketchy on the call and it was tough to even get a location of where this happened. To get an idea of how extensive the damage is, here is a site that links to some better pictures: http://www.wftv.com/news/22921408/detail.html

As you can see, Disney tried hard to hide the damage from the general public. There was another bus (an old RTS) brought in to shield the scene from the public on EPCOT Center Drive and had trees to hide it from the monorail. They even put tarp on the front end of the bus before towing it off. The bus that was rear ended seems to also have pretty severe damage. It seems like it got crunched in pretty bad as all the lines are not straight on the bus. Secondly that one has to have engine damag.e As for the Disney Nova, it is scary to see how the front is a crumple zone. It goes to show why you should never stand forward of that line. I think I will take this into consideration when using the campus buses at Rutgers (all Novas) which are always overfilled with people in the front windshield.