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By Associated PressTwo children who died at the park this summer had heart conditions, medical examiners say.
ORLANDO - Two youths who died this summer at Walt Disney World both succumbed to irregular heartbeats linked to natural causes, medical examiner's reports said Tuesday.
Daudi Bamuwamye, a 4-year-old Sellersville, Pa., boy who died in June after going on a simulated rocket ship ride, Mission: Space, had an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle caused by a condition present since birth, doctors said.
Jerra Kirby, a 12-year-old girl from Newport News, Va., who collapsed at the Typhoon Lagoon water park in August, died from arrhythmia caused by an early stage viral heart infection, an examiner determined.
The formal conclusion for Daudi's cause of death was idiopathic myocardial hypertrophy with fibroelastosis of the left ventricle, a disorder that can throw heart contractions out of coordination.
"People with this condition are at risk for sudden death throughout their life due to abnormal electrical heart rhythms," medical examiner Jan Garavaglia wrote. "This risk could be increased under physical or emotional stressful situations."
Company engineers concluded that the Epcot ride, one of Disney World's most popular, was operating normally. It spins riders in a centrifuge, subjecting them to twice the force of gravity. A warning posted last year in front of the ride 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."
Park officials also determined nothing was wrong with Typhoon Lagoon, a wave simulation pool that Jerra collapsed beside.
Disney officials released a two-sentence statement Tuesday: "Our sympathies are with the families during this difficult time. In regard to the reports, we believe they speak for themselves."
Robert Samartin, a Tampa lawyer representing Daudi's parents, said the family needs time to review the report. "Mr. and Mrs. Bamuwamye and their daughter, Ruthie, remain crushed by this devastating loss. They would like to thank everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers," Samartin said in a statement.