A 12-year-old boy died after riding a roller coaster Thursday at the Disney MGM theme park, the latest in a string of tragedies that have stung Walt Disney World in recent years.
Michael Russell of Fort Campbell, Ky., had ridden the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with his parents and 7-year-old brother. When the ride was finished, Byron Russell, the boy’s father, noticed Michael was limp, pulled him off the ride and performed CPR until paramedics arrived, Orange County sheriff’s spokeswoman Barbara Miller said.
The boy was pronounced dead after he was taken by ambulance to Celebration Hospital at about 11:30 a.m., Disney said in a statement. The cause of death was not immediately determined.
“According to the family, he was a very healthy child,” Miller said.
State officials say he is the ninth person to die at Disney World since 2003. At least 16 people have died at Disney’s two theme parks in Florida and California since 1989.
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