Posted on 06/14/2010 12:34:43 PM PDT by JoeProBono
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Investigators have found that a 9-year-old boy killed in a collision with a Walt Disney World bus while riding his bicycle was "solely responsible" for the accident.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Mom of boy killed by bus accuses Disney of cover-up
HISTORY:
April 2, 2010 - "Chase Brubaker, the 9-year-old boy struck and killed by a Walt Disney World bus Thursday in Lake Buena Vista, was described today as a cautious child who did everything right....."
Here come the lawyers!
My heart goes out to this family. To lose your nine year old son - I can’t imagine the pain.
That’s very tragic. I was very lucky as a kid, I ignored all the rules of the road and never wore a helmet when I rode a bike and I made it through childhood OK. Some kids just aren’t as lucky.
Kids on bikes have to be really careful.
“The Florida Highway Patrol report released Monday...”
Why would anyone allow their child to ride a bike where there qwas so much traffic? I’m sorry he was hit by a bus but I don’t think this was the drivers fault if he crossed into the bus’ path.Accidents do happen and sometimes people die.
No - Florida Highway Patrol investigated and found Disney was not at fault.
From the description given, sounds like the boy’s tire may have popped and he crashed into the bus.
The poor family.
Your reading comprehension simply cannot be that poor.
deja vu... seems like this story came out a long time ago... but i see it happened it April... seems like last year... i must be getting old...
I've witnessed children that age - in order to save time - ride across one side of a highway, lift their bike over the highway divider, then ride across the other side.
A divider with no shoulder on either side.
Multi-tasking today.
Bump for later reading.
It would be impossible to cover up, given the circumstances. If the bus had run all the way up onto the sidewalk on that well traveled road, it would have been witnessed, and the evidence would be clear.
No one crosses the mouse.
There was a witness behind the bus who said the boy looked over his shoulder and drifted off the sidewalk and into the side of the bus. Unless the witness was bought, the bus driver was not at fault, as Disney has found. How could it be the driver’s fault if someone hits the side of a vehicle when both are going in the same direction?
Kind of hard to blame the bus driver if the kid ran into the side of the bus.
Gotta feel for the family, but a kid on a bike has GOT to ride with traffic and hopefully in a bike lane and completely respect the cars and trucks and bus traffic going by. Like so many here on FR...my bike was my transporation until I was old enough to drive. Many many close calls and only one minor collision with a car.
Now I do some pretty long rides with my friends and not a ride goes by that someone doesn’t come close to getting creamed. Unless you live in the boonies, cycling is an extreme sport. Parents need to let their kids know how dangerous it is, and teach them how to ride.
Investigation and witnesses reflect the kid mistakenly wasn't watching where he was going and drifted into traffic.
Sad, but these things do happen.
I grieve for all, too include the bus driver.
Thanks for saving me the reading. :)
Exactly.Unless Disney specifically and clearly forbids bikes on their property then they've gotta expect that kids are gonna do dangerous things on bikes and they must plan accordingly which they appear not to have done.
My hunch is that Disney would lose in a courtroom...*unless* bikes are forbidden.
2) I was young and stupid once and almost died when darting out between two cars while playing tag
3) You are not going to beat the mouse in the mouse's house. They own the jurisdiction. Unless it's blatant or unless the plaintiff files federally, the mouse will no cause the plaintiff. (I am a lawyer and have some limited knowledge of this).
The "Highway" Police? Never heard of it.I've seen state troopers (dark colored cars).Are you talking about the State Police?
OK...assuming that you're talking about some state law enforcement agency...they'd just be looking for criminal activity.And that's much different than civil liability.I can see where no criminal charges would be filed.But if I'm a juror in a civil trial I'd listen *very* carefully to what the plaintiff's lawyer had to say.
I’m sad for the family, but kids on bikes do things they often shouldn’t. I for one, when I was a kid did some incredibly risky things. This just sounds like an accident.
Just yesterday evening, I was driving down a road, doing about forty miles an hour, and a group of six or seven kids are driving down the road towards me. It is about 2100, no light, and I can see their forms on bikes skirting side to side, mostly going towards their side of the road. They have no lights on their bikes.
But one kid just kept coming right at me. Playing chicken with my car. I began to slow down pretty sharply, and at that point, he swung to the side and went down the road past me about a foot away. It pissed me off, because if I had hit that stupid son of a bitch, I would have been saddled my whole life with that.
My brother was hit by a car when he was seven years old. He ran out in the street at dusk, and the guy who wasn’t speeding, hit my brother, throwing him fifty feet and giving him a compound fracture of his femur. He lived, but he was laid up a long time, and to this day has a huge purple scar running from his hip to his knee with lines going out both sides, a really dramatic scar.
Nobody blamed the guy, it was clearly my brother’s fault, but the guy carried it around for a long time. Then he eventually committed suicide. He just never got over it. My heart aches for that guy. He had a great life, and fate brought him to that point when my brother ran out in front of him. Two or three seconds earlier or later, it never happens.
Life is short.
They call them “Highway Police” in some other parts of the country.
Up here in Massachusetts, they are “The Staties”, as you well know.
“But if I'm a juror in a civil trial I'd listen *very* carefully to what the plaintiff's lawyer had to say.”
Aren't you the fair one. And that is why we need tort reform in this country, to stop silly (and usually democrat/liberal) weak-minded people that believe civil court action is the same as winning the “punish the ‘rich’” lottery. You know, where ‘chilren can't do wrong, and truth is what the lawyer says, not what the facts show. Sleazy lawyers will be the ruin of this nation. Have a nice day.
Highway Patrol here in Ohio.
I have walked and driven the road where this happened many many times. The road is usually quiet, except when a bus goes by or the lazy campers in electric golf carts. If he was riding on the bike/walking path, he was a 6 to 12 of feet away from the road.
The only way this could have happened is:
The kid didn’t look where he was going and pulled out in front of the bus
or
he had a blowout and the bike lurched into the bus.
Years ago we had a neighborhood kid hit by a car. It was his fault. He came through OK, considering. He stopped by the other day... big, strong Marine with one Iraq deployment under his belt.
As for the loss of a child, been there, doing that. Changes your world, it does. What is left of my heart goes out to her.
Nice cars they give them in Florida.
Some States have highway patrol and State Police, their jobs are different but do overlap in some areas.
This was a life changing event.
I agree. Disney should ban all vehicles and tear up the pavement. Also, I’d like to see in writing where they prohibit children from riding into the side of buses. Disney should sue the parents for failure to provide proper supervision and prohibit children under 16 from visiting their parks. Then we can have an accident free environment.
Sadly it sounds like...1. a parent didn't check the air & condition of the boy's tires and 2. he got distracted and hit the bus.
Very sad.
If the bike was a rental, then the parent may have a legitimate suit.
The way that a mult-billion dollar company like Disney prevents such an event is to prohibit the introducing of bikes into the park.Failing to do so opens them up to lawsuits in a case like this.I'm not saying that that's the way it *should* be....just the way it *is*.
You’re welcome. “Witness” should be in the headlines, but “Disney” probably provokes more interest.
Does Disney World rent bikes?
It is your type of thinking that makes people afraid to do business or go outside their homes. When you open your own “world” perhaps you can outlaw fun.
OK...whaddya wanna bet that there's a big civil judgment against Disney or,more likely,a good sized *private* settlement in this case?
It’s your world. I’m just passing through.
This incident occurred in Fort Wilderness, which is the Disney Campground Resort and yes, they do rent bikes there. But it sounds to me like there was no problem with the bike. The kid was being a kid and looking around and not paying attention to his surroundings.
I don't understand why people can't accept that we live in an imperfect world and tragic accidents happen.
Ah. Thanks for the clarification.
From Deb’s allearsnet.com
“Where do I rent bikes, golf carts, tennis equipment, etc.?
The Bike Barn (open 8 a.m.-6 p.m.) is located behind the Meadow Trading Post and rents bicycles, canoes, pedal boats, kayaks, and equipment for fishing and tennis. Life vests (provided) must be worn by all guests while in the boats. Gear for shuffleboard is complimentary to guests with valid FW resort IDs. The phone number is (407) 824-2742. Note: Surrey bikes may be rented at the Fort Wilderness marina. The Electric (Golf) Carts are for rent at the Outpost.”
I’ve met Deb. She has the best stuff on Disney. If you are planning a trip, this is the place to start!
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