Disney World Employee Is Killed in Fall

A part-time custodian at Walt Disney World died after he was swept from a platform by an elevated cable car and fell 40 feet to the ground.

Raymond Barlow was on a platform for the Skyway in Fantasyland when the cable-car ride was switched on in preparation for the park’s opening Sunday morning. Whoever switched it on didn’t know Barlow was standing in the path of the cars, Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Larson said.

Barlow, 65, grabbed the four-person gondola and struggled to pull himself inside. He let go when he was over a flower bed, snapping tree branches on the way down, park employees told investigators.

“He was looking for a place to fall. He didn’t want to fall on the concrete, so he fell on the flower bed,” Larson said.

Barlow, who was hired in September, died a short time later at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

The ride, which stretches between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, was back in operation after the accident.

“We are deeply saddened by what happened, and our hearts go out to the family and friends of this ‘cast member,’ ” Disney spokeswoman Rena Callahan said. “Disney puts a high priority on safety.”

It was the first fatality for the Orlando park since October 1989, when a woman was killed in a boat collision. A 4-year-old girl died during a ride in 1995, but an autopsy concluded the ride did not contribute to her death.

A tourist at California’s Disneyland was killed in a Christmas Eve accident when a metal cleat ripped loose from a ship and hit him in the head.