Tragedy on Big Thunder

Media coverage and analysis of Disneyland’s
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad accident

Updated Tuesday, September 9, 2003
by Lani Teshima

In the news

Although it is unnecessary to list all the accident-related articles we come across, we will be including links to those articles we feel provide interesting or revealing information.

Family mourns man killed on coaster – Orange County Register, September 9, 2003.
This article provides a graduation photo of Marcelo Torres, the man who was killed in the accident. More importantly, the article notes that the Torres family has hired Orange County attorney Wylie Aitken. Aitken is familiar with Disneyland and lawsuits; he was the lawyer who filed suit against Disney after Luan Phi Dawson was killed on Christmas Eve day 1998 when a metal cleat pulled free from the Sailing Ship Columbia while it docked. That suit eventually settled out of court, and although the details were sealed, the media reported at the time that damages could have topped $20 million.

Probe continues in Disneyland death – Los Angeles Times article, reprinted in the Salt Lake Tribune on September 7, 2003.
This article interviews Vicente Gutierrez (22), the man who was admitted to University of California–Irvine Medical Center in critical condition. Marcelo Torres, Vicente's best friend and the man who was killed in the accident, is described as a role model for other kids, who never drank or smoked. His family “is in bad shape; the father can barely talk. It's a terrible thing—we don't even have the body," bemoans a family friend.

Disneyland Rider's Room Becomes Refuge for Grieving – Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2003.
A story about the devastating loss faced by the family of Marcelo Torres, the man killed in the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The heartbreaking quote comes from Torres' uncle, Sanie, who the article describes as shaking his head as Torres' brother sobbed on the front porch: “You go to Disneyland to have fun…You don't expect to die.”

Related MousePlanet articles

Mouse Tales: Thunder Down (12/10/02) – David Koenig reports on the DOSH investigation of another death at Big Thunder.

Mouse Tales: Idiot-proofing the park (11/13/00) – David Koenig discusses new safety measures initiated in Disneyland.

Parenting in the Park: Theme Park Safety (9/25/00) – Adrienne Krock writes about theme park safety including tips from SaferParks.org founder Kathy Fackler.

Cast Place: Stupid Guest Tricks (8/11/00) – Former writer Kevin Yee recounts the tale of a guest who leapt out of Big Thunder.

Disneyland Paris Big Thunder information

Tokyo Disneyland Westerland's Big Thunder information

Disneyland Forever annotated track list, including Big Thunder tracks.

Acknowledgements

Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix, Andrew Rich, Karl Buiter.

Text © 2003 MousePlanet, Inc., all rights reserved.

MousePlanet provides detailed coverage about the accident history of Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster. The main page with the most recent updates is available here.

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad experienced an accident at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2004. Read our original breaking-news coverage of this accident here.

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad experienced an emergency stop on Saturday, April 3, 2004, less than a week after it reopened from the 2003 accident. No injuries were reported for this accident. Read our coverage of this accident here.

A locomotive on the Big Thunder Mountail Railroad in Disneyland's Frontierland broke loose at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Friday, September 5, killing 1 man and injuring 10 others.

• Our main page about the accident (9/13/01).
• Our extensive analysis about the cause of the accident based on the DOSH final report (12/1/03).
• Mouse Tales columnist David Koenig reports on a ex-supervisor who blows the whistle on the ride (9/10/03)
• Our Park Update coverage as Big Thunder reopens in March 2004 (3/15/04)
• Media coverage and analysis of accident (9/03)
• Coverage of Eisner and Rasulo press conference on day of accident (9/5/03).
• Breaking news coverage as events unfolded on Friday afternoon (9/5/03).

• The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad locomotive broke loose from the rest of the train at 11:20 a.m. on Friday, September 5, 2003.

• Single fatality: Marcelo Torres (22) from Gardena, California, of undisclosed causes.

• 10 injured victims, including the following, who were transported to the University of California Irvine Medical Center:

• Vicente Gutierrez (22) from Wilmington, California, suffered facial injuries, a broken collarbone and cracked ribs.
• William (47) and his wife Teresa (37) Smith, from North Hills, California, suffered from bruises.
• Debra (44), her son Christopher (15), and her nephew Adrian (9), from San Diego, suffered from bruises.

• Designed and manufactured by: WED/Walt Disney Imagineering

• Ride type: “Mine train” type roller coaster

• Opened: September 2, 1979

• Maximum height: 104 feet at the top of Big Thunder Peak

• Maximum capacity: 32

• Height requirement: 40 inches tall (3 feet 4 inches) [correction]

• Safety restraint: Single bench-wide lap bar (bench sits two)

• Speed: 28 miles per hour

• Disneyland's BTMRR was created in-house by Disney Imagineers. The WDW version was built in 1980. The Disneyland Paris version was built in 1992.

Discuss this incident on our MousePad discussion board.

Submit info: We update this page as news becomes available. If you have some news to share, contact Lani Teshima.

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