Boy struck by drone at Orlando's Lake Eola Park remains in intensive care, mother says

Martin E. Comas, Orlando Sentinel on Dec 24, 2024

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A 7-year-old boy critically injured Saturday by a falling drone during a holiday show at Lake Eola Park remains in intensive care, his mother said Monday in a post on a GoFundMe page.

“Zander is out of surgery and still fighting!” Jessica Lumedge wrote. “I will be missing work at this time, and he will be celebrating Christmas in the ICU.”

The boy, Alezander, underwent emergency open-heart surgery Sunday after one of several drones that fell from the sky during the Holiday Drone Show struck him in the chest and mouth.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the GoFundMe page for Alezander has raised more than $24,000 of the $50,000 goal through more than 840 donations.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Saturday evening on X, formerly Twitter, that it’s investigating. It was remains unclear Tuesday what caused the drones to collide and fall. About 25,000 people attended the evening event.

Adriana Edgerton, the boy’s other mother, said in an interview with WESH-TV that her family was watching the show when multiple drones fell from the sky.

“Everyone’s natural instinct was to duck and scatter,” Edgerton said. “Before we realized it, my daughter found my son on the floor unconscious. He had blood coming out of his face.”

An Orlando city spokesperson Tuesday did not return a message seeking comment. The city had said in a news release that there were “technical difficulties” during the show.

Just before 7 p.m. the Orlando Fire Department responded to calls that a person was injured by a drone, according to the release. The city then canceled the 8 p.m. show

Its third year in Orlando, the show was organized for its second year by Sky Elements based in Fort Worth, Texas. Representatives did not return calls or emails Tuesday seeking comment.

A company statement released Sunday said: “Sky Elements Drones wants to extend our sincere hope for a full and speedy recovery for those impacted at our Lake Eola show.”

On its website, the company states that one of its missions is safety and “protecting onlookers, staff members and property at all times.”

“Safety is our number one priority, borderline obsessed,” the website states.

Videos from the Lake Eola show posted on social media show multiple green and red drones falling from the sky. In one video posted to X, user MosquitoCoFL Podcast showed drones falling as Lake Eola’s famous swans vigorously flapped their wings and quickly moved away.

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