[News] Accident was a tragic end to day of fun
J.J.
Accident was a tragic end to day of
fun
INJURY: A police report details the scene and
emotions of the Zucker incident at Disneyland.
October 4, 2000
By TONY SAAVEDRA,
DANIELLE HERUBIN
and ELIZABETH AGUILERA
The Orange County Register
It was the last ride of a long day for the
little boy in Mickey Mouse ears and
white tennis shoes.
Four-year-old Brandon Zucker
scampered aboard Roger Rabbit's Car
Toon Spin ride, a whirling "taxi" that
zigzags amid villainous weasels and other
surprises. He scooted close to his
6-year-old brother, Nicholas, and his
mother, Victoria, who sat behind the
wheel.
Brandon was near the opening on the
passenger side.
Brandon's dad, David, and his
grandmother, Jeane Kurland, climbed
into the taxi behind them.
It was after 10 p.m. And the fun was
about to come to a tragic end.
Within minutes, the 45-pound
preschooler would be trapped beneath
one of the brightly painted cars, his
organs torn, his body folded in half.
A 19-page Anaheim police report
released Tuesday gives the most detailed
and dramatic account of the moments
surrounding the Sept. 22 accident that
left Brandon in a chemically induced
coma and halted one of the park's most
popular rides.
The report also for the first time offers a
glimpse through the eyes of a horrified
father as he watched his small son run
over by the ride.
The Zuckers, who live in Can yon
Country in northern Los Angeles county,
came to the park about 11 a.m. to noon.
They were taking a last spin on the
Roger Rabbit attraction when David
Zucker saw his son fall onto the tracks
and disappear beneath the father's car.
The boy didn't scream. Didn't cry for
help. He didn't have time.
Zucker yelled, "Brandon fell out,
Brandon fell out of the car! He's
underneath the car, get him out!" His
cries were joined by the screams of his
wife.
Zucker jumped out of his moving
carriage, trying desperately to stop the
car, which dragged the boy about 10
feet before resting in the Bullina China
Shop portion of the ride, the report said.
David Zucker bent over, tugged gingerly
at Brandon. The boy wouldn't budge.
He tried to lift the car. It wouldn't move.
Kurland climbed out of the car and
touched the boy's little hand, trying to
comfort him. Brandon was unconscious. His eyes closed. His hand
limp.
He was wedged between the center bar and the right side of the
vehicle, the report said.
Ride attendant Alain Mentel was at the controls of the ride when it
shut off automatically, a sign that something was wrong. David
Zucker ran up to Mentel, yelling, "My child is stuck under the car!
Help me!"
Mentel told officers he pushed the emergency button on the control
panel and ran back with the father. Disney officials would not
comment on the emergency button and what it does. Someone
turned on the attraction's inside lights. Mentel said the accident
occurred in an area where there are no security cameras.
Mentel said he called another attendant, Matthew Schulman, and
instructed him to dial 911.
Schulman, according to the report, called his supervisor and
Disneyland communications. He said he and other employees
began evacuating people from the ride.
Bystander Allison Fields and her husband, Frank Leon, were in line
when they saw David Zucker come running, crying for help. An
attendant went with the father, but returned. David Zucker came a
second time, pleading for help. A group of men moved to help him,
but Disneyland employees told them to stay back, Fields said.
Zucker returned a third time, but ride attendants walked in the
opposite direction.
Fields said this time about 10 men, including Leon, jumped the
barriers and ran back to help the child. She, too, went into the
ride.
She said she crawled underneath the vehicle and felt Brandon's
neck for a pulse. There was none. She also felt his wrist, which
was
warm but lifeless, the report said.
The group of men tried to lift the car from the tracks, as
Brandon's
mother cried, "Not my baby, please God, anything but my baby."
Frank Leon wrapped his arms around Brandon's waist as the men
lifted, trying to pull the boy out.
But Brandon remained trapped.
The scene was too much for Frank Leon, who left with his wife,
too emotional to stay, the report said.
Gregory Kammerer was one of the men trying to pull the car off
Brandon.
He told police that it seemed Disneyland rescue workers took too
long to respond.
It is unclear how long Disney workers took to notify police and
rescue workers. But once the call was made, an Anaheim police
officer and Disneyland firemen arrived within three minutes,
according to the police report. Anaheim firefighters arrived within
four minutes of getting the call.
An Anaheim officer heard the call for help on a park-radio
frequency at 10:16 p.m. He arrived at 10:19 to find a Disneyland
firefighter pulling the boy from beneath the car. Jacks had been
used to lift it. Disney rescue workers administered CPR on the
child until Anaheim paramedics arrived and took over, the report
said.
Paramedics got a pulse, but the boy could not breathe on his own,
the report said. He had turned blue from lack of oxygen.
Brandon was transported by ambulance to UCI Medical Center,
where he underwent surgery for two hours at 12:30 a.m.
Meanwhile, Anaheim police responded with a team of officers,
including homicide detectives and a forensic specialist.
Among the items they found near the ride: the boy's red-and-green
sweatshirt, his blue jeans and the red-handled scissors used by
paramedics to cut the clothes off him.
They also found his mouse ears.
Researchers Eugene Balk and Dick Glasow contributed to this
report
--
J.J.
CaliBoi4u2
attractions against a life? What if that were Eisner's son?
Karen Anderson O'Mara
> panel and ran back with the father. Disney officials would not
> comment on the emergency button and what it does. Someone
> turned on the attraction's inside lights. Mentel said the accident
> occurred in an area where there are no security cameras.
Apparently, the emergency button only alerts inside Disneyland.
How is this kid doing now?
Karen
macint...@my-deja.com
Eisner's youngest is about 24, too big to fit under the car.
--
MaCGeEk
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
DC Tyler
"CaliBoi4u2" <calib...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001005013837...@ng-bg1.aol.com...
> What if that were Eisner's son?
'Tis merely the loss of a personal asset. Or is he a liability?
-Tyler
-----------------
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-Tyler Andersen
Everyone has dreams, and everyone has the potential to fulfill them.
Those who complain are the ones who failed and refuse to try again.
-Tyler Andersen
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