Driver killed in monorail crash....

[kristinlynn]

Oh I’m so mad! I just saw a blurb on fox news about the monorail crash…it states the national transportation safety board will join the investigation (this is significant because it is the first time the agency is getting involved in an accident probe on private property…says the reporter anyway). The reporter still says the 21 year old driver was killed when HIS train ran into another. He then states “a witness called it a head on collision, toxicology tests on the driver are still pending.”

From what has been posted on this board, it appears Austin didn’t cause the accident and I think it’s very sad that news is still being reported inaccurately and there is still speculation over Austin’s involvement.

 

[Promomx2]

That is just plain terrible the way fox news is spinning this story. Maybe you could email them and even give the link to the video of Austin with the the family and remind them that a life has been lost.

 

[Cmbar]

Oh I’m so mad! I just saw a blurb on fox news about the monorail crash…it states the national transportation safety board will join the investigation (this is significant because it is the first time the agency is getting involved in an accident probe on private property…says the reporter anyway). The reporter still says the 21 year old driver was killed when HIS train ran into another. He then states “a witness called it a head on collision, toxicology tests on the driver are still pending.”

From what has been posted on this board, it appears Austin didn’t cause the accident and I think it’s very sad that news is still being reported inaccurately and there is still speculation over Austin’s involvement.

I agree and I am TICKED at Disney that they haven't come out sooner on this. They must know what caused the accident because they opened the monorail back up. We should have seen a press conference by now letting people know that they do not believe Austin was at fault. I think it is terrible that they haven't stepped up. They would rather have people think it was Austin's fault then to say it was really Central's fault for not switching the tracks and that they shouldn't have had the PINK backing up without someone being sure the track was changed. Plus there should have been someone there to kill those trains.

 

[POB14]

I agree and I am TICKED at Disney that they haven't come out sooner on this.

If you are being investigated - by the police, by NTSB, by anybody - the first advice you will get from any competent lawyer is, do not talk to anyone, ESPECIALLY the press.

Disney has very competent lawyers.

I'm sure their silence is based on legal advice.

 

[mrsksomeday]

They would rather have people think it was Austin's fault then to say it was really Central's fault for not switching the tracks and that they shouldn't have had the PINK backing up without someone being sure the track was changed. Plus there should have been someone there to kill those trains.

You have no idea what Disney wants people to think. Disney won't say anything until cleared by legal, that doesn't mean they want the public to think it was Austin's fault. Fox News is famous for spinning stuff to make things look bad. The truth will come out.

 

[sotoalf]

Toxicology reports are expected (maybe required) in accidents like this.

 

[WDSearcher]

You have no idea what Disney wants people to think. Disney won't say anything until cleared by legal, that doesn't mean they want the public to think it was Austin's fault. Fox News is famous for spinning stuff to make things look bad. The truth will come out.

Fox News -- the morning they first reported the accident, they were talking about why there would be people in the park that late (2am). One of the commentators said, "Well, according to the schedule I have here, the SpectroFantastic Parade was at Downtown Disney at 12:30 that night, so it's not unusual that tourists would still be heading home at 2am."

The SpectroFantastic Parade? At Downtown Disney. Really? I had no idea. So much for caring what Fox News thinks.

As for Disney re-opening the monorail ... they don't have to have a final conclusion on what exactly caused the crash in order to re-open. They need to have confirmation on what did NOT cause the crash in order to re-open. That is, they need to know that no mechanical or safety system is faulty and that the monorails are sound and safe. They can know that without necessarily having an exact cause.

All due respect to the Orlando Sentinel and other news outlets and their diagrams, until Disney, OSHA, and the NTSB release the cause, no one can say with certainty that "it was really Central's fault for not switching the tracks and that they shouldn't have had the PINK backing up without someone being sure the track was changed. Plus there should have been someone there to kill those trains." That's speculation too, until all the investigations are done.

Let's remember that there were CMs in the Central Station too, as well as one in the other train. I'm sure everyone who was working at that moment is second-guessing what they did or didn't do and wondering if they were the ones who caused their colleague's death. I would imagine that Disney wants to be sure of what happened before they point fingers anywhere.

 

[Cmbar]

That is just plain terrible the way fox news is spinning this story. Maybe you could email them and even give the link to the video of Austin with the the family and remind them that a life has been lost.

I've seen it on Cnn and Abc Too. They keep saying a HeadOn collision.

 

[Cmbar]

You have no idea what Disney wants people to think. Disney won't say anything until cleared by legal, that doesn't mean they want the public to think it was Austin's fault. Fox News is famous for spinning stuff to make things look bad. The truth will come out.

I know that I haven't seen the CEO of Disney come out and say anything. When someone dies on property and a CM no less we would think we should be hearing from the CEO. Now I agree they do not need to have a press conference answering questions, but I haven't seen a human response to this yet. I also think they should be investigated but I don't see why they would open up the monorail if the investigation is still open. How can they know the system is safe if they don't know what happened? If they know that Pink backed into Purple then why haven't they corrected the news reports?

And Please I have seen the same report on CNN and ABC. (In between their obsessive reports of Michael Jackson.)It is what has gone out from Disney or at least not been corrected by Disney that is running the news media. I think they are keying off the one visitor that said it was head on. But I guess that vistor assumed (rightly so) that Purple ran into Pink because it wouldn't be logical to think it was a backing up Pink train.

 

[kat_balou]

Have y'all seen the guest video of Austin? I just found that the Sentinel had it and posted a little piece on it: http://bit.ly/wyjzX

It was shot last Tuesday, and it really puts a "face" on Austin. You can see his personality shining through as he jokes around with the family riding in the front with him. Even though it was making me teary, knowing what was coming for him in a few days, I had to laugh out loud when he said the monorail runs on "Magic....(pause)....and electricity." What a neat guy and what a terrible loss.

Wow, I couldn't finish watching that. How sad.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I just read his funeral is today at 2:00, not like I have stopped thinking about him, but I know I will be at 2 today. His poor mother. The obituary says he is survived by his mom (only), so I am thinking there were no siblings (sorry if that was said and I missed it), I am sure that makes it even harder to deal with, not that ever loosing a child is easy, but when it is your only must be worse. It is just so sad, I have never felt so bad about someine in the news, I just keep thinking about them.

Also, I did read his autoposy was done but toxicology reports would take a couple weeks, I agree this is probably just a procedural thing. I don't think anyone thinks he used anyting, but have to be complete.

 

[inkkognito]

Yes, he was an only child and his dad had passed away previously. He had his mom, a loving girlfriend, and a huge contingent of friends (many from Celebration High School) and classmates from Stetson University who are mourning his passing. Being a monorail pilot was one part of a rich life.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Oh that poor mother. I can't even begin to imagine her pain. If I lost a child I would be so devistated and would need my husband so badly, and she lost him already too. I just can't understand things sometime. I know things "happen for a reason" but it is so hard to make sense of many things in life.

At 2:00 I will be hugging my kids tightly while I pray for his mother, and as always will be grateful that I still can. Life is short that is for sure.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

If anyone wants to see it, I found the video with the aunt.

http://www.wftv.com/video/19968836/index.html

And the article about the family, so very sad...

http://www.wftv.com/news/19969550/detail.html

I'll tell you though, I fell even worse so you may not want to watch.

I had seen the yearbook quote from his father, I didn't realize he wrote it to him before he died. I hope his mother has some comfort that they are together now. I know it isn't the same as having your son, but maybe there is some comfort in that.

 

[stitchrulz]

Unfortunately, Disney's silence is not surprising. I know most of us (especially here!) have emotional investments in the whole Disney experience and project those feelings onto anything related to Disney. The powers that be at Disney, however, look at this strictly from a business standpoint. This makes us uncomfortable because it doesn't fit with our vision of what Disney is and means to us. For many, Disney is a magical escape from reality, and a tragedy such as this shatters that illusion. For all the wonder that is Disney, it is, in fact, a corporation, and this seems to be how they choose to deal with such issues. Recall the "rumors" several years ago about the CM injured/killed working on the Skyway at MK. This was back when they still had the magazine, so we actually wrote in asking why the Skyway was removed because we always enjoyed grabbing pics, etc. We received a "we were unable to find an answer for you" response, but they did send us one of those architectural plan drawings of Cinderella Castle. Now, you know they know the answer. It was kind of like, well, we don't want to discuss this, so we'll give you this pic and hope you go away. I also don't recall hearing anything on the news about that incident. (BTW, I'm not saying I agree with how they've handled this, so please don't flame me. )

We don't know what's going on behind the scenes with the families, and I sincerely hope Disney is treating them with all the compassion and respect they more than deserve. But, I'll be surprised if we hear much "official" from Disney on this, even though we'd really like to.

Continued prayers to family and friends . . .

 

[wvdislover]

I cried when I watched the video of him. Knowing it was taken so recently makes it even sadder. It's always sad when a young person who seems so special loses his life so suddenly His family and friends are in my prayers.

 

[WDSearcher]

I know that I haven't seen the CEO of Disney come out and say anything. When someone dies on property and a CM no less we would think we should be hearing from the CEO. Now I agree they do not need to have a press conference answering questions, but I haven't seen a human response to this yet.

Perhaps Disney is showing its "human response" to those who should most appropriately see it -- the family of the CM who died. I would imagine that several letters of condolence from many at WDW and the Disney Co have made their way to Austin's family. They're the people Disney should be focusing on.

As for the CEO making a statement, I wouldn't expect him to do that until all the facts are in. I mean, come on. Disney may be very important to everyone here, but in the real world, Disney's just another business. Bob Iger going on CNN to talk about the cause of a monorail crash at Disney World would be a huge over-reaction. You want to make people scared of riding on monorails? That's how to do it.

Disney probably has contacted the news media to correct early misinformation. But the thing is ... just because Disney tells them the right info doesn't mean the news media is going to change what they're saying. Not all of the stations out there care if they have it right. They just want it first. And honestly ... I'd rather Disney be concentrating on its CMs and Guests and how to get through this than to be constantly calling up Fox and telling them what they're saying wrong.

 

[kristinlynn]

I feel like all Disney would need to do is post a media statement on the press section of their website (something legal could review and edit the heck out of until they were blue in the face). The statement should be vague but include the basic facts that have already been discovered (at this point we know X, Y & Z and will provide details as we move forward with our investigation.) Then assure people the monorail is safe and add something in that Disney is doing for the family. A statement of this nature would give the press something accurate to report, help end some of the speculation about Austin's involvement, and ease the mind of many Disney fans and guests.

While any good lawyer would tell a company not to say a word, any good PR person would say in order for your customers to forgive you, sympathize with you, trust you, and ultimately move on and forget about the tragedy, you need to appear transparent. At the end of the day, the PR department and legal department need to reach a happy medium and a statement from Disney should be made…IMHO anyway.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

remember news papers & news stations are only there to sell news.. no matter what it takes.. so take what ever they report with a grain of salt

 

[deej696]

Ok so I didnt go back to read if anyone posted this, but...

WESH in Orlando just reported that as we have discussed here, a failure of the switch to turn is what the overall cause of the crash was confirmed to be. The pink train was being taken off Epcot line and put on the MK line to return to depot. The NTSB concluded that there was no failure in the computer system operating the switch, and that the switch is/was functioning properly.

Translation: Someone didnt activate the switch....

They also reported that it appears that the operator (Austin) was not at a complete stop in TTC and had attempted to put his train in reverse to avoid the collision....

It may not have made the WESH website as it was an on-air report that was "breaking news"