Disneyland Ride Closed After Injury
A popular Disneyland ride will remain closed today as officials of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health continue their investigation into Friday night’s accident in which a 4-year-old boy was critically injured.
The boy fell from Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, a popular ride that is designed to evoke the world of Toontown, from the 1988 movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”
The agency is charged, under a state law that took effect this year, with investigating deaths and serious accidents at amusement parks.
The boy, a Southern California resident whom authorities have not identified, fell from the first of two connected cars and suffered severe injuries. He did not have a pulse when paramedics arrived at 10:23 p.m. and revived him. He was listed in critical condition Sunday at UC Irvine Medical Center.
The boy had been sharing a Car Toon Spin “taxi” with his mother. The ride uses a lap bar, a padded device that fits across passengers’ laps to keep them inside.
Disney officials did not elaborate Sunday on the accident and declined to discuss lap bars.
Rider behavior, not mechanical failure, is blamed in 90% of theme park accidents.
“When appropriate for a given ride, lap bars have been proven to be safe and effective,” said Thomas Sheehan, president of Amusement Industry Manufacturers & Suppliers International.
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