Disney’s Wine & Dine Marathon Runner Fatally Collapses

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on November 6, 2017

The Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon, which takes place along Lake Buena Vista, is a popular event for both casual and serious runners as well as those who just enjoy spending more time in the Disney universe. This past Sunday, nearly 15,000 people attended the event, which begins at Magic Kingdom and ends at Epcot after taking runners on a 13.1 mile course. On Sunday, the starting runners began at 5:30 in the morning and the first person to cross the finish line, the history-making Giovanna Martins, completed the entire course in 1 hour, 19 minutes, and 16 seconds.

The event was not a glorious celebration for everyone, however, and for one individual in particular the race ended in disaster. Details around the incident are not clear as Disney seems to be keeping many of the facts to themselves, but it appears that one of the runners, an individual who has not been named or described in any way, was just reaching the finish line when they collapsed. Paramedics on the scene rushed to attend to the individual, but were ultimately unable to prevent the person from dying. The individual was declared dead some time later, although it is not clear whether or not they were transported to a hospital, treated on site, or taken to a Disney-run facility.

A spokesperson for Disney offered condolences to the family and friends of the deceased individual, but failed to give much more information as to what happened and how it was handled.

Based upon the short statement, it seems clear that the individual did not die right away. As mentioned above, it is not clear whether this means they were transported to a hospital in the area or were just taken to one of Disney’s own medical locations. The statement from Disney officials did not offer any information as to what happened to cause the person to collapse, did not indicate whether or not the person was conscious when the paramedics arrived, and generally avoided all discussion of the incident itself. It is not known whether or not any investigation into the death will be conducted, and, if so, whether it will be conducted by state officials or from those employed within Disney.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.