Boy, 15, Breaks Foot and Leg on Disneyland 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 to the accident, which occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. during the height of the Anaheim amusement park’s busy holiday season. 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 boy’s foot was pinched.

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

A Disneyland employee called 911 at 11:33 a.m., describing the incident as “a guest pinned under a car.” The employee called back to say 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.

State inspectors already were on adjacent Disney property Thursday morning at California Adventure, the new theme park scheduled to open in February, and responded quickly to the accident.

They inspected the small caterpillar car in which the injured guest had been riding and will continue their investigation today, state spokesman Dean Fryer said.

The ride is equipped with a lap bar restraint and posted with numerous signs warning guests 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 was released, hospital spokesman Ron Bingham said. The family declined comment.