A Walt Disney World waterway was the site of a traumatic collision between a small vessel and a ferryboat last month. The accident left one woman, Barbara Wormwald, with serious injuries, including a collapsed lung and broken ribs.
According to the ferry’s captain, Will Green, the small boat was travelling “recklessly” towards the ferry. Upon contact, the small craft went under the ferry and “surfaced in front of it with the injured passenger.”
Wormwald and her husband, Michael, rented the small boat at Downtown Disney. Michael Wormwald told the sheriff’s office that he assumed the ferry would allow them to pass by when it saw the two-seat watercraft coming near. However, even though the ferry attempted to reverse, it was too late before the woman was trapped between the two.
Barbara Wormald, 61, of Celebration and Skipton, England, was immediately transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center to receive treatment. All operations on the waterways were resumed after the collision cleared, and no citations have yet to be issued. Wormwald, however, may allegedly face charges for reckless boating.