Another Boy Hurt on a Disney Ride

A 15-year-old Arizona boy suffered a broken foot and leg Thursday morning on Disneyland’s Alice in Wonderland ride when his left foot was pinched between a guard rail and car in which he was a passenger.

Disneyland officials responded promptly to the accident, which occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. during the height of the Anaheim amusement park’s busy holiday season, and the ride was reopened less than six hours later, Disneyland spokesman Ray Gomez said.

Police said they believe the boy, from Mesa, Ariz., was dangling his leg outside the ride, a slow-moving attraction in Fantasyland that follows Alice’s adventures down the rabbit hole. It stopped automatically when the teenager’s foot was pinched.

“The car did exactly what it was supposed to do,” said Anaheim Fire Division Chief Kent Mastain.

A Disneyland employee first reported the accident, calling 911 at 11:33 a.m. and describing the incident as “a guest pinned under a car.” The employee called back later to say that it was an “extremity injury only.”

Disneyland officials declined comment on what they believe caused the injury but said they are cooperating fully with the state Department of Occupational Safety and Health, the agency charged with investigating amusement park accidents, Gomez said.

At the time of the accident, state inspectors were at California Adventure, the new theme park beside Disneyland scheduled to open in February, and they responded quickly.

They inspected the small, caterpillar-shaped car involved in the accident and will continue their investigation today, state spokesman Dean Fryer said.

The accident occurred in an outdoor portion of the ride on an inclined ramp. The ride is equipped with a lap bar restraint and posted with numerous signs warning riders to keep their arms and legs inside the car, Gomez said.

The injured boy was treated at Western Medical Center in Anaheim for the broken foot and leg and later released, hospital spokesman Ron Bingham said. The family declined comment.

“The young man doesn’t like all the attention for getting hurt on the Alice in Wonderland ride,” Anaheim Police spokesman Rick Martinez said.

Thursday’s accident comes three months after 4-year-old Brandon Zucker was critically injured on the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin, when he was trapped under a heavy “taxi-cab.”

The state has not completed its investigation into that incident, and it remains unclear why the boy tumbled from the ride and was dragged about 10 feet before the ride stopped.

Brandon, whose family lived in Canyon Country in northern Los Angeles County, remains hospitalized with severe brain damage. When he was pulled from the ride after at least 10 minutes, he had no pulse and was not breathing.

Thursday’s accident also comes nearly two years after a fatal accident on Christmas Eve 1998 when a Washington state man was killed and two others injured after a metal cleat pulled free from the 84-foot tall ship Columbia as it docked.

Disneyland and Anaheim law enforcement officials were criticized sharply for their response in that incident. Disneyland cleaned up the accident scene before police arrived three hours after the accident. Anaheim investigators waited 90 minutes before going to the scene.

Gov. Gray Davis has since signed a state law requiring theme park owners to preserve accident scenes. The law also requires them to report injury accidents to the state.

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Staff writer Hector Becerra contributed to this report.