Sources blame employee for Disney crash

ORLANDO, Fla., July 16 (UPI) -- A Walt Disney World employee failed to activate a monorail track switch prior to a fatal crash between two of the Florida site's trains, sources say.

Unidentified individuals familiar with crash investigation details said the employee, whose identity was not reported, mistakenly told investigators he thought he had activated a switch on Disney's Epcot train loop, the Orlando Sentinel said Thursday.

The sources said while the employee informed a central coordinator the switch had been activated, investigators found the switch never took place July 5.

The switch would have transferred one of the system's trains onto a spur, allowing it to get out of the way of oncoming trains.

Instead, the train backed up along the Epcot train line and was struck by an oncoming train, killing 21-year-old monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg.

The Sentinel said an investigative group, which includes the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has concluded there were other contributing factors to the crash besides the employee's alleged error.