Injured Disneyland Worker Hopes to Remain With Park

Christine Carpenter, the Disneyland assistant manager hurt in the Christmas Eve accident that killed a tourist, has undergone nine operations to repair damage to her left foot, her mother said.

Carpenter, who turns 31 today, is getting around on crutches and speaks of returning to work at the park, perhaps in special events, according to Walt Disney Co. spokesman Ray Gomez and Carpenter’s friends. The first priority, though, is an upcoming 10th surgery, her mother, Susan Carpenter, said.

Carpenter’s mother expressed vindication last week over a Cal/OSHA report blaming inadequate training for the accident. Fining Disneyland $12,500, officials said Christine Carpenter never received hands-on instruction in docking the 18th century sailing ship replica Columbia.

Luan Phi Dawson of Duvall, Wash., was killed and his wife injured when Carpenter slung a line over a metal mooring cleat as the Columbia approached its dock too fast. The cleat tore loose from the ship, breaking Carpenter’s ankle before flying into a crowd and striking the tourists.

In a statement to investigators, Carpenter said she trained on the Mark Twain paddle wheeler, which, like Columbia, cruises Disneyland’s Rivers of America section. During the training last October, she initialed a checklist saying she knew the docking procedures for both boats. But she said she never actually worked with the Columbia during training, and Cal/OSHA determined the ship was out of service the day she trained on the Mark Twain. Indeed, Carpenter said the day of the accident was the first time she ever tried to dock the Columbia without help from co-workers.

In her statement, Carpenter repeatedly said she believed the ship was approaching at a safe speed. The family declined to elaborate further on the accident and its aftermath. “She’s not ready to talk about it yet,” her mother said.