WFTV obtained information Tuesday about an accident involving a woman who was injured last Thursday when a rented two-seat motorized boat she was riding in collided a Disney ferry boat.
The accident happened at the Treehouse Village on Disney property.According to documents released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the ferry driver and the driver of the two-seat boat tell different stories of what exactly happened.
The captain of the Disney ferry boat, William Green, told investigators that the Sea Raycer motorized boat was driving recklessly and crashed into the ferry. Captain Green told investigators that the Sea Raycer went underneath the Disney ferry and popped up in front of it. Green said that’s when he noticed that the woman, 61-year-old Barbara Wormald, was injured.
Wormald was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center with injuries sustained in the accident. Officers said she was in stable condition, suffering a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and complaining of back pain.Wormald’s husband, who was driving the Sea Raycer that was rented from Downtown Disney, was not injured.
He told investigators that he saw the large ferry boat and thought it was moving away from their small boat, but then realized it was coming at them and was very close.
Michael Wormald, 61, told investigators he turned quickly to the right to avoid the ferry but it was too late. He said the ferry ran up onto the passenger side of the small boat and ran over the top of his wife.
The Sea Raycer the couple was on had been rented from Cap’n Jack’s Marina at Downtown Disney. The Sea Raycer can be rented by anyone over 18, according to the marina.
Source
Here is the article from WESH:
A woman at Walt Disney World was injured Thursday afternoon when the small boat in which she was a passenger was involved in a crash with a ferry.
Barbara Wormald was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center by ambulance. Authorities said Wormald suffered a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and a possible spinal injury.
The captain of the ferry boat, William Green, told investigators he was traveling southbound along a waterway at Disney world and witnessed a small two-seat watercraft traveling recklessly toward his vessel. Green said the watercraft hit the ferry, and he immediately put the ferry into reverse.
Green said the watercraft went under the ferry and surfaced in front of it with the injured passenger.
The small boat sustained damage from the seating area to its bow, an incident report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office stated.
Michael Wormald, the victim’s husband, was driving the boat when the crash happened. He stated that he believed the ferry was going to move away for him and his wife, but he then noticed the vessel was coming at their boat when it was only a short distance away. He said he attempted to make a sharp right turn to avoid the ferry, but it was too late.
Michael Wormald said the ferry hit his wife and ran over the top of her, wedging her between the ferry and the small boat momentarily. He said he yelled for the ferry to stop and call for help.
The crash remains under investigation.
Source
Photo credit panoramio.com
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I have been on those little motorboats many times at WDW. One really has to go out of there way to get into an accident.
Me too! It would be too bad.
Good point. I've noticed that most of the sources say “ferry boat.”
Thanks for pointing that out..That was just copied and pasted from those 2 news columns.
As always I hope that everyone is ok.
The writers should probably specify that the “ferry” involved wasn't really a ferryboat. It was one of the Sassagoula River Cruise boats that operate between DTD and the Port Orleans Resort.
The ferryboats are the huge, double-decker boats that transfer guests between the Ticket & Transportation Center and the Magic Kingdom. If one of these behemoths were involved, you can bet there would have been 2 casualties in this story.
My fear is that all of these accidents will result in Disney starting to eliminate attractions and services that have high risk liabilities. There's some bad mojo working for them right now. I am hopeful that this craziness will go away soon.
I am sure alcohol was involved..not on the Disney driver part but the people who hit a ferry..
It should be pretty easy to reconstruct this accident and figure out who was at fault. I've seen people drive those searacers pretty crazily.