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4-year-old collapses, dies after Disney ride

An autopsy shows no trauma on the child, who was limp and unresponsive after riding Epcot's Mission: Space.

By ALEX LEARY
Published June 15, 2005

	[AP photo/Walt Disney World]
	More than 8.6-million people have ridden Mission: Space since it opened in 2003; seven have gone to hospitals for problems.

Agnes Bamuwamye knew her 4-year-old son was anxious about riding on Mission: Space, a popular thrill ride at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center.

Near the end of the 4-minute journey to Mars, she noticed Daudi's body was rigid, his legs sticking straight out.

She grabbed his hand to assure him.

But when the ride ended, Daudi's body was limp and unresponsive, she told Orange County sheriff's officials.

She rushed Daudi outside and laid him on a bench as paramedics performed CPR. Daudi, on vacation with his family from Pennsylvania, died just before 5 p.m. Monday.

The cause of death remained a puzzle Tuesday. The medical examiner conducted an autopsy and found no sign of trauma, saying additional tests are necessary. Results could take weeks.

Dr. Steve Karges, a St. Petersburg pediatrician, said possible causes are a severe seizure or arrhythmia, a disruption in rhythmic beating of the heart.

"I don't think sheer terror would do it," said Karges, who has been on the $100-million space-flight simulator. "Fear doesn't kill people."

Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Office said the boy met the 44-inch height requirement. Theme parks use height, not age, as a guide because that's how restraints are designed.

Disney reopened the attraction Tuesday morning after its safety and engineering experts concluded it was operating normally. No changes were made to the ride or who can board it.

The resort issued a statement saying it was saddened by the death but called it a "highly unusual event" and noted 8.6-million guests have ridden Mission: Space "without incident" since it opened in 2003.

But the ride previously has drawn negative attention.

Disney has reported that seven people have been sent to hospitals for various problems, including chest pain and nausea. None of them proved fatal. The most recent reported incident was in July 2004 when a 40-year-old woman fainted.

Reporting such cases is voluntary under an agreement Florida theme parks forged with the state in 2001. Mission: Space has generated the most reports, according to the Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection.

The death was the second at Disney this year.

In February, a 77-year-old woman died after going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The woman was in poor health from diabetes and several ministrokes, and the medical examiner said her death was "not unexpected."

Nationwide, 64 fatalities were documented on amusement rides from 1987 to June 2004, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Of those, 46 occurred at "fixed" theme parks, as opposed to traveling carnivals and fairs.

The amusement industry says it is among the safest forms of recreation. Last year, 300-million guests took 1.5-billion rides, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

Yet the trend toward faster and more thrilling attractions has alarmed some critics, who worry about the effect of G-forces and sharp twists and turns.

At Mission: Space, the more common complaint is a woozy, sick feeling when the intense ride completes its 4-minute, 20-second cycle.

Passengers are issued motion sickness bags and experience twice the normal force of gravity.

"People either love it or don't like it at all," said Deb Wills, founder of All Ears, an e-mail newsletter about Walt Disney World. "We caution people to make sure they are in very good health, with no problems with heart or motion sickness."

Reviewers at themeparkcritic.com had mixed reactions to the attraction, which was designed in partnership with NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab.

"All I can say is WOW," one person wrote last month. "I loved this ride. It's like a motion simulator on steroids ... be careful if you are easily carsick."

Another reviewer said the ride is not supposed to be fun. "Doing astronauts stuff is not like riding those shallow coasters."

Mission: Space produces its rocket effects the same way NASA does for astronauts in training.

The ride spins passengers, seated four to a pod, at high speed around a centrifuge about 50 feet in diameter. With visual effects displayed on monitors, the rocket blasts off with a loud noise and smoke. The G-force can lightly pull back the skin back on one's face.

The ride was built by Entertainment Technology Corp. of Southampton, Pa. Officials there declined comment. The company filed a $15-million lawsuit against Disney in 2003, alleging it was not paid in full and not allowed to perform safety tests. The case is still in litigation.

Daudi Bamuwamye came to Disney with his mother, 8-year-old sister, Ruth, and father, Moses, a United Nations financial official. The family lives in Sellersville, Pa., about an hour north of Philadelphia.

Before getting dressed for Epcot, family members had breakfast in their hotel room, according to a sheriff's report. Daudi had four grape Kool Aids, an oatmeal bar and several slices of white bread with jelly.

They arrived at noon and were in line at Mission: Space at 2:30 p.m. After 10 minutes, Daudi said he had to go the restroom. They returned to the ride and entered at 3:14 p.m.

Along the way to the capsule, the family would have been bombarded with warning signs about the ride's intensity; Disney said it has at least a dozen at the attraction. Audio and video warnings are also played.

One sign posted last year read: "For safety you should be in good health, and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that can be aggravated by this adventure."

As the ship prepared for blast-off, Daudi sat in the commander's chair, between his mother and sister.

Four minutes later, his mom rushed out with him in her arms. A Disney worker helped her lay the child on a bench and they performed CPR, the sheriff's report said, as rescuers were called. When paramedics arrived, they took over CPR then rushed Daudi to nearby Celebration Hospital.

He was declared dead at 4:52 p.m.

The family released a statement through the medical examiner, thanking people for their concern. "We would ask that you continue to respect our privacy as we struggle with this heartbreaking and devastating loss."

- Times researcher Cathy Wos and staff writer Mark Albright contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press.

[Last modified June 15, 2005, 00:44:10]