Disney World Visitor Killed on Water Ride
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A tourist at Walt Disney World in Orlando was killed Sunday after he stepped off the Splash Mountain ride midway through it and was hit by another boat.
“He got out of the boat on his own--he wasn’t pushed, he didn’t fall. Why he did that nobody knows,” sheriff’s spokesman Bernie Presha said. “We don’t know if he was trying to cross or if he slipped.”
The ride closed after the accident, which happened about 2 p.m., said Rena Callahan, a Walt Disney World Resorts spokeswoman. She expected the ride to reopen today.
Witnesses told investigators that the victim’s boat was weaving through the inside of the man-made mountain when he stepped out, Callahan said.
“Clearly this is a tragic event and our hearts do go out to the family and friends of this person,” she said.
The 37-year-old man was taken to Celebration Hospital with serious injuries and was later pronounced dead.
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