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44-Year-Old Dies After Riding Disney Coaster

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The Associated Press

Published: December 19, 2007

ORLANDO - A 44-year-old man died after being pulled unresponsive from a Walt Disney World roller coaster Tuesday.

Jeffery Reed of Navarre showed no visible signs of trauma, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

Inspectors found the ride, Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest, was working properly, but Disney kept it closed pending further review.

Deputies said Reed appeared to be conscious 50 seconds before the ride ended, because his photograph was taken then. A Reedy Creek Emergency Services worker tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but he was pronounced dead at Celebration Hospital.

Authorities are investigating whether Reed had a previous medical condition, sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said. An autopsy was scheduled.

"We offer the family our deepest sympathies and will provide assistance to them during this difficult time," Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said.

Everest debuted in 2006, simulating a runaway train ride through the Himalayas. Riders meet a giant animatronic yeti, traveling both forward and back to avoid the monster and the train tracks it mangled.

Everest has a 44-inch height requirement. Pregnant women and visitors with high blood pressure, heart, back and neck problems are warned not to ride.

It was Disney's first big-ticket ride since Epcot's Mission: Space. Two people died after riding Mission: Space, though both had pre-existing health conditions. Disney has since built a tamer version of the ride.

Everest was noticeably less thrilling from the start. Mission: Space is equipped with vomit bags, and puts riders through a force two times that of gravity on a simulated trip to Mars. Everest has an 80-foot drop, but doesn't turn riders upside down.

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