Driver killed in monorail crash....

[BounceyOne]

How very sad, my condolensces to the drivers family.

 

[inkkognito]

Sorry that only one photo is showing in my linked report; I posted two and corrected the headline typo, but it won't update. Hopefully the other one will appear out there later as it shows the cab. I am just horrified at seeing it. Please pray for all of those involved, especially the driver.

 

[dacky041208]

sad sad news

 

[safetymom]

It happened at the MK TTC.

 

[twalton]

Just announced that the entire system is closed for the day (kinda obvious, I guess, that they would do that). Hard to imagine the gridlock that will cause for those attending the parks. Minor point in light of an event like this, I know, but still...

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

What a sad and terrible thing.
My thoughts are with the driver's family and friends.

 

[bradk]

the OS is implying only the Epcot monorail will be closed. Which means I presume that bus service will be available to monorail resorts

 

[grace&philipsmom]

Such a tragic event, our thoughts are with the drivers family.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

What sad news this morning! My prayers and thoughts are with those that were affected by this.

Heather

 

[AKL_Megs]

How horribly sad. Thoughts and prayers to the family at this sad time.

 

[hthrbells]

So Sad!!! Many hugs for those family's, they just mentioned it on the Today show.

 

[december14disney]

So sad. How could that have happened? Thoughts and prayers...

 

[Crazy Hakim]

I wonder if the driver wasn't already incapacitated already (heart attack or something). Just seems like it would be too difficult to slam into another train full-speed unless something really unusual happened...

I would have to agree, apparently, there is so much safety built into the system that something had to occur for the driver to "ignore" (not intentionally) the safety precautions.

 

[Robo]

I would have to agree, apparently, there is so much safety built into the system that something had to occur for the driver to "ignore" (not intentionally) the safety precautions.

What happens if a monorail driver falls asleep at 2am?

 

[RMulieri]

How awful! I just turned on the news and saw it on CNN....so sad

 

[Disneyfan1977]

How awful for everyone involved. I can't comprehend how it happened.....

 

[J3nn78]

How terribly sad. Thankfully more people were not on board and hurt.

Something must have happened to the driver. I suspect either fell asleep or heart attack. However, I am surprised there is not some sort of automatic safety stop that would have prevented it from continuing into the station while another was stopped.

I wonder how long it will be shut down. Not to sound callous, but I hope it is open again when we go next month. This is a once in a lifetime stay at Poly for us.

Also, I bet that there will be no more driver cabin passengers. Could you imagine if a family had been in there too?

 

[stlouisdisneyguy]

What a terrible thing to have happened. I feel so bad for the driver and his family, my prayers and thoughts for all the Disney Family.

 

[bradk]

don't you have to keep your hand on the throttle to move the train? if so, a heart attack or falling asleep aren't likely i'd imagine. the train should have stopped in plenty of time with all of the visual indicators if something did incapacitate the driver. when monorails stop due to traffic, you can't even really see the train in front. and in the case of the TTC, all the more reason to wonder given how well it'd be lit.

and i'd almost bet if the driver was that tired, that some protocol would have been breached. but again, i doubt this the case.

i also doubt this will end riding in the front. people dying after riding attractions or even just getting injured on attractions closes the attraction for a short while, but not permanently. this is reportedly the first accident the monorail system has ever had at WDW and pending the investigation results, the one incident shouldn't cast dispersions on the performance of the hundreds of daily successful runs for decades.

 

[cltk78]

Wow! How awful!

My thoughts are with the driver's family.