Disney World monorail crash kills employee
July 6, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Bizarre Accident of the Week, Fatality, In this week's e-newsletter, Investigations, Latest News & Views, Transportation safety
An investigation is underway to determine what caused a monorail at Walt Disney World in Florida to slam into another, killing one train’s driver.
The accident happened Sunday at about 2 a.m.
The crash claimed the life of 21-year-old employee Austin Wuennenberg. Six guests were treated on the scene for minor injuries. The driver of the other monorail was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
One early theory among people involved with Disney’s monorail system is that one of the trains was switching tracks, which requires the monorail pilot to override the anti-crash system, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The monorails have data recorders which may provide more information on the cause of the crash.
Wuennenberg was a student at nearby Stetson University. One of his former classmates is quoted as saying the young man scheduled his classes around his Disney job and took precautions if he was working a night shift.
Brandon Ross says his friend would make the hour-long drive to the Orlando area the day before his shift so he wouldn’t be tired when he operated the train.
In an online profile, Wuennenberg referred to working 12- and 14-hour shifts recently.
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Tags: Disney World monorail crash, monorail death, monorail investigation

July 7th, 2009 at 8:57 am
If he was working 12-14 hour shifts plus going to school, that doesn’t leave much room for sleep no matter how creative you get with your schedule.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:39 am
What a terrible accident.
My thought is though, is Disney World still hoppin at 2am?!?
July 8th, 2009 at 12:22 am
From the sound of things, it seems that this accident could have been prevented…of course. Though working and going to school can easily overwork just about anyone who does not leave time to re-cooperate. My heart goes out to Austin’s Family. May the answers they seek shed light on this tragedy. For more information on this article, you might want to check out the Orlando Sentinel which covered this story by interviewing ex employees of the monorail system.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/disney-monorail-crash/orl-bk-disney-monorail-crash-070809,0,3806707.story
July 8th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Editor’s note: Thanks Art B for the additional link with more information on this story.