Disney Bus Accident Kills St. Petersburg Boy

April Fools' Day was far from being a joke this year for the Brubaker family from St. Petersburg, Florida. 

On that day, they were vacationing in Disney's Fort Wilderness Camping Park with their only son of nine years of age.  The family had just arrived hours early to set up camp, when they allowed their child to explore the campgrounds with another child in the park. 

The little boy and his companion, an eleven-year-old girl, set off on their bikes.  They were following a trail that ran close to the road.  Between the trail and the road was only a small patch of grass that was not able to stop the nightmare that quickly followed. 

Around 1:35 in the afternoon, the two kids were riding up the trail when a Disney Transportation Department bus drove up onto the little sidewalk.  It is unclear whether the driver, David Rich a thirty year employee of Disney, saw the little boy or not.  But sources can confirm that the little boy somehow swerved into the bus, collided with it, and was thrown beneath the vehicle as it was still moving.  Before anyone could comprehend what was occurring, the young boy's body was run over by a rear wheel tire.  As soon as medical officials arrived at the scene, the little boy was pronounced dead. 

The parents maintain that the bus driver was acting negligently.  Florida's Highway Patrol investigation believes that the driver may not be at fault since the little boy swerved into the bus.  And eyewitness accounts seem varied and report similar, but slightly nuanced details.  Thus, no charges have been filed against Disney or the bus driver, but the investigation is still pending. 

The Kansas City Child Injury and Accident Attorneys of Roswold Law Group are committed to protecting children from child injury and accident situations.  We write articles like these to inform parents and to prevent child injury and accident situations from ever occurring in the first place,  but if for some reason an unfortunate event should occur and your child needs help, we urge you to give our law offices a call.