Boy injured in Roger Rabbit ride dies

Brandon Zucker, the boy who at the age of four suffered severe brain damage when he fell from Disneyland's Roger Rabbit ride in 2000, passed away this week. Now 13 years old, Brandon Zucker was rushed to St Joseph's Hospital in Orange County, California after his parents called paramedics reporting his difficulty breathing. The young boy was later transfered to Children's Hospital of Orange Country where he was pronounce dead at 1:13 a.m. Monday morning.

Following his traumatic injuries - including a torn diaphragm, liver, and spleen - Brandon fought through permanent brain damage for 8 years. As of this time, the autopsy conducted produced inconclusive results as to the cause of death, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Following the heartbreaking incident, Disneyland has implemented several safety and procedural enhancements. Doors were added to the Roger Rabbit ride to ensure an accident like the one Brandon experienced would not happen again and all Disney staff were instructed to dial 9-1-1 immediately in the event of an emergency as the ride attendant had instead called the supervisor before medics were contacted. Disneyland also decided to staff paramedics in the park for quick-response situations and, in 2003, launched a park-wide child-friendly safety review to ensure all of the rides in use were safe for younger passengers.

Further testing will be conducted to establish Brandon's cause of death. “His father and I gave him the best quality of life we could,” said Victoria Zucker. “He was a great, great son. We love him so much and we will miss him greatly.”

On behalf of the staff at Lifthill, our condolences go out to the Zucker family and all affected by this tragedy.