Disney worker who stopped runaway prop in viral clip speaks out: ‘It can not hit the audience’

The Walt Disney World worker who was injured after stopping a large, runaway prop boulder from plowing into guests says he jumped into action to ensure the 400-pound boulder did “not hit the audience.”

Robert Herrick, a Disney cast member at Florida’s Hollywood Studios, heroically jumped in front of the massive boulder as it rolled toward seated spectators at the park’s Indiana Jones live show on December 30.

“The only thing going through my mind is that if it came up over the set, and I knew it would, that it can not hit the audience,” Herrick told WESH.

The boulder, which is part of the live show, came off its tracks and was barreling toward the audience when Herrick stepped in, attempting to block it. The prop piece knocked Herrick off his feet and another worker stepped in to stop the boulder in its tracks.

“I know it’s infallible. It’s filled with air. A lot of people in the comments said there’s no way it weighs over 400 pounds. It absolutely does,” Herrick added.

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The Indiana Jones stunt attraction has operated at the park for decades without incident, Herrick said. Video of how the attraction usually operates showed the boulder being launched on a track toward a cast member playing Indiana Jones, who then runs away from it.

That day, however, Herrick noticed the boulder launched unusually hard, rocketing toward the set’s upstage wall, prompting him to spring into action. The show is based on the Indiana Jones films and recreates an iconic scene from the first film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark."

“The boulder launched that propelled it to the upstage wall of the set, the Mayan Temple set, really hard. I noticed that that was unusual,” he said.

While Herrick had no training in how to stop the boulder, his familiarity with the attraction allowed him to step in swiftly — even though the impact sent him flying into a downstage wall, leaving him with whiplash and a bleeding head.

“I don’t think there was any thought of what it could potentially do to me. I don’t even think I had the thought of ‘wow, this is going to hurt.’ It was only if I could change the trajectory,” Herrick said.

Two vertebrae in Herrick’s neck were fractured, and he will be in a neck brace for the next eight weeks, WFTV 9 reported.

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Despite his injuries, Herrick said he loves the show and his cast members, and says he is excited to return to work.

Herrick’s actions likely prevented families and children at the park from being injured.

Herrick recalled being moved by hearing guests’ reactions, including one man in the front row who had been filming the show with his children and told them, “That man saved our lives.”

For now, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is being performed without the boulder.