Credit: Justin Smith, FlickrAn incident at Walt Disney World Resort left a one-month-old infant injured over the weekend.
The past week has seen a string of incidents reported at Disney World. On Friday night, a body was found at Disney Springs – the resort’s onsite shopping and dining district, home to the likes of World of Disney, House of Blues, and Gideon’s Bakehouse – with police confirming that they were investigating the incident as a suspected suicide.
On December 31, a cast member was injured during a performance of Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. A 400-pound rubber boulder had broken free of its tracks and was bouncing towards the audience when the former stuntman placed himself in harm’s way to protect guests. He has since received stitches and is recovering, with Disney confirming plans to make adjustments to this portion of the show.
Over on the West Coast, a Disneyland guest also received stitches after being attacked by a queue jumper he had confronted in line for Indiana Jones Adventure.
New Incident Reported on EPCOT Ramp
Another incident unfolded Saturday on the entrance ramp to EPCOT Center Drive from Interstate 4 (via FOX 35 Orlando).
A 24-year-old man from Apopka was taken into custody after a hit-and-run crash that left a one-month-old baby injured. The victim also reported that someone inside a Mercedes threw a plastic cup filled with liquid at their vehicle.
The infant, who was seated in the back of the car, was transported to a hospital by ambulance following the collision. Authorities did not release further details on the child’s condition.
Florida Highway Patrol located the suspect vehicle at around 3:30 p.m. Sunday near Bear Lake Road and McNeil Road. The passenger, identified as Marquail Travonte Jennings, matched the description provided, and the vehicle showed damage consistent with the crash.
Jennings initially claimed the other driver left the scene and said the cup had been thrown at him. After troopers informed him of dashboard camera footage, he acknowledged the crash had not been reported. He was arrested on charges including felony hit-and-run with injury, battery, and assault.
A History of Hit and Runs at Disney World
Walt Disney World consists of approximately 175 miles of roadways. That makes vehicular incidents a relatively inevitable occurrence – including hit and runs.
In 2023, a guest took to TikTok to detail an incident that occurred near Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, where his truck was rear-ended by another vehicle with a Disney cast member on board. At some point during the incident, it was discovered that the cast member did not have a driver’s license and was not insured, allegedly leading to the cast member fleeing the scene.
A year earlier, guests reported a hit-and-run within the EPCOT parking lot that partially destroyed a white van.