Boy Who Died On 'Rock 'N' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith' Ride Had Congenital Heart Defect

July 4, 2006

According to The Associated Press, the 12-year-old boy who died after riding Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (video),one of the fastest roller coaster rides at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, had a congenital heart defect, an autopsy found Friday, and an inspection of the ride found no mechanical problems.

The autopsy of Michael Russell, the son of an Iraq war veteran, was done one day after he stopped breathing while riding the roller coaster.

The cause of death was left pending until more tests are conducted, ruled Sara Irrgang, an Orange County associate medical examiner.

The boy from Fort Campbell, Tennessee, collapsed on June 29 during a ride on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. He was with his 7-year-old brother, mother and father, said Sgt. Carlos Torres of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

The Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which opened in 1999, is an enclosed, 82-second ride with a roll-over corkscrew feature accompanied by a blasting AEROSMITH soundtrack. It is presented as a high-speed journey down a mythical Los Angeles freeway.

Disney's web site says coaster riders will "zoom from 0-60 mph with the force of a supersonic F-14, take in high-speed loops and turns synchronized ... and zip through Tinseltown in the biggest, loudest limo you've ever seen."

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