Disney World Cast Member Killed in ‘Industrial Accident’

Juan Alberto Ojeda, a 33-year-old Walt Disney World employee, was killed at the Pop Century Resort early Monday morning in what’s being considered an industrial accident.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call at 9:18 a.m. Monday morning. The office told ABC affiliate WFTV that a man was found unresponsive when they arrived on the scene. Spokeswoman Ingrid Tejada-Monforte said he was declared dead by emergency responders

Walt Disney World Resort president George A. Kalogridis released a statement shortly after the news broke.

“All of us at Walt Disney World Resort are deeply saddened today by the loss of one of our Cast Members,” Kalogridis said. “This is a tragic accident, and we are providing resources and care for those impacted and are working closely with the proper authorities to understand how this happened.”

The cause of death has not been determined as of Monday afternoon.

With 2,880 rooms across 235 acres, Pop Century Resort became the largest hotel in the history of the famous destination theme park when it opened in 2003.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the park is currently working on an aerial transportation system to connect its resorts to its Epcot and Hollywood Studios parks. One of the gondola’s in the ongoing construction plan will have Pop Century connected to the Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

This is not the first death to take place at one of the resorts, nor is it the first at Pop Century.

In March 2013 a 13-year-old boy from Springfield, Missouri, drowned at one of the hotel’s pools after the lifeguards were no longer on duty.

Other incidents at the resorts include a dead body being found at the Doubletree Guest Suites (was later declared a suicide) in 2010, a guest jumping off the A-frame tower of the monorail at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in 2016 and an 11-year-old boy dying of amoebic meningoencephalitis after swimming in the River Country Water Park at Fort Wilderness in 1980.

Another non-lethal incident took place at Pop Century in 2016 when a 7-year-old boy from Wisconsin claimed his baseball coached groped him inside one of the hotel rooms. The coach was arrested and later charged with lewd and lascivious molestation.

Back in March a man named Galen Haldeman sued the park after claiming he was bitten by a rat while attending the parks in 2014. The incident reportedly took place while he was exiting the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin ride with his wheelchair bound wife.

Photo: Matt Stroshane/Getty Images