One worker killed, one injured hours apart at Florida’s Walt Disney World
By
Jessica Goldstein
12 July 2018
A 33-year-old worker was killed at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, on Monday following an accident with a Toro utility cart. According to witnesses, Juan Alberto Ojeda was working on the cart’s battery when it jumped anywhere from three to six feet up a nearby chain link fence before it landed on and crushed him behind Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.
Danny Vasquez, a fellow worker who witnessed the incident, saw the cart move up the fence and fall on top of Ojeda, whom he rushed to help. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Ojeda asked Vasquez to back the cart off of him and told him that he could not breathe, before falling unconscious and dying at the scene. Vasquez and another worker, Josh Willner, struggled to lift the cart off Ojeda, but were unsuccessful due to its weight.
In a statement to the Washington Post, Walt Disney World Resort President George A. Kalogridis said, “All of us at Walt Disney World Resort are deeply saddened today by the loss of one of our Cast Members”—the term used by Walt Disney to refer to workers at its resorts. “Our thoughts and concerns are with his family, friends, and fellow co-workers.” Kalogridis called Ojeda’s death “a tragic accident” and said the company is “providing resources and care for those affected.”
Hours later, around 10:30 p.m., another male worker was injured after a fall while working at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The worker called 911 and was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was reported to be recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department was involved in investigating both the death and the injury. The Federal…