Disney performer fatally injured in Hollywood Studios accident
Walt Disney World stunt performer Anislav Varbanov, 30, was fatally injured during a rehearsal for the ” Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. He was doing a tumbling roll after 7 p.m. Monday when he was hurt.
Disney workers dialed 911 at 7:34 p.m. to report that a cast member sustained a head injury. Varbanov was rushed to Florida Hospital Celebration Health, where he was pronounced dead at 8:53 p.m., Orange County sheriff’s deputies said.
Varbanov is the the third cast member in seven weeks to die after sustaining injuries while working.
On July 5, monorail driver Austin Wuennenberg, 21, died when another train backed into his own.
On August 10, Mark Priest, 47, died from complications he experienced after a bad on-stage fall at the Magic Kingdom.
Out of respect for the deceased cast member, Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez says the Indiana Jones show was not performed Tuesday.
NTSB Agency Says It Could Be 6 Months Before Final Report on Disney Monorail Crash
The Federal agency said Wednesday they have received most of the documents they requested in the investigation of the July 5th Disney World monorail crash that killed monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in an e-mail to the media that “the documents that will become part of the investigation are employee records showing training, work history and work hours; monorail standard operating procedures; and mechanical maintenance and inspection history of the trains and switch mechanism.”
The e-mail also said that interviews have been completed with “the switch control operator, the pilot of the striking monorail train, and the monorail coordinator that was on duty on the night of the accident.”
The next report, per an NTSB spokesman, won’t likely be released for about six months.
