Woman Injured When Disney Ferry, Boat Collide

ORLANDO, Fla.,None — WFTV obtained information Tuesday about an accident involving a woman who was injured last Thursday when a rented two-seat motorized boat she was riding in collided a Disney ferry boat. The accident happened at the Treehouse Village on Disney property.

According to documents released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the ferry driver and the driver of the two-seat boat tell different stories of what exactly happened.

The captain of the Disney ferry boat, William Green, told investigators that the Sea Raycer motorized boat was driving recklessly and crashed into the ferry. Captain Green told investigators that the Sea Raycer went underneath the Disney ferry and popped up in front of it. Green said that's when he noticed that the woman, 61-year-old Barbara Wormald, was injured.

DOCUMENT: Read Incident Report

Wormald was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center with injuries sustained in the accident. Officers said she was in stable condition, suffering a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and complaining of back pain.

Wormald's husband, who was driving the Sea Raycer that was rented from Downtown Disney, was not injured. He told investigators that he saw the large ferry boat and thought it was moving away from their small boat, but then realized it was coming at them and was very close.

Michael Wormald, 61, told investigators he turned quickly to the right to avoid the ferry but it was too late. He said the ferry ran up onto the passenger side of the small boat and ran over the top of his wife.

A friend of the family told WFTV she has suffered permanent heart injury and is still in intensive care because of her collapsed lung.

Disney won't discuss the accident because it's still under investigation by the sheriff's office. The sheriff's office said it didn't go public with the accident Thursday when it happened because no one asked about it until Tuesday.

WFTV spoke with her husband Tuesday, and he said he just wanted to stay by her side.

The sheriff's office said there are charges pending against him.

The Sea Raycer the couple was on had been rented from Cap'n Jack's Marina at Downtown Disney. The Sea Raycer can be rented by anyone over 18, according to the marina.

A family friend said Mr. Wormald has contacted a lawyer, but boat renters sign liability waivers when they rent the boats at Downtown Disney.

The accident is the latest in a recent series of crashes on Disney property.

Earlier this month, 9-year-old Chase Brubacker was struck and killed when he rode into the side of a Disney bus at the Fort Wilderness Resort.

In March, a Disney bus crashed into a tour bus. Eight people were injured in that accident, including a 5- year-old boy who suffered a broken pelvis.

Last July, a monorail crash at Disney killed 21-year-old driver, Austin Wuennenberg.

WFTV