Boy killed in Disney bus accident

[n2doc]

By Bianca Prieto, Jason Garcia and Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel
3:15 p.m. CDT, April 1, 2010

A Disney bus struck and killed a 10-year-old boy this afternoon while he was riding a bicycle with a friend at Fort Wilderness on Walt Disney World property, the Florida Highway Patrol confirmed.

Sgt. Kim Montes of the FHP said the bus hit the boy on Big Pine Drive, a two-lane roadway that partially loops around the 750-acre resort, sometime around 1:45 p.m.

The kids, both of whom were wearing helmets, Montes said, were riding on Big Pine Drive north of a paved pathway that leads to a pool and tennis courts at the resort.

The boy's friend, an 11-year-old girl, was not injured, Montes said.

Troopers said the boy died at the scene.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/os-child-hit-bus-disney-20100401,0,5104879.story

[d_r]

1. horribly sad

I can't begin to imagine being on vacation and losing a child.

The #1 cause of death and injury for elementary-school age children is accidents, and the leading type of accident involves motor vehicles, either as a passenger or pedestrian. Children that age aren't as experienced as adults in judging distances, speed, and so on.

Throw in being in a less familiar environment that feels especially safe because it is removed from the realities of the outside world.

What a tragedy for the family, the other child, the driver, the passengers on the bus.