Florida mom of boy hurt in Lake Eola drone show mishap files lawsuit against Orlando, drone company

Mom of boy hurt in Lake Eola drone show mishap files lawsuit

A mother is suing the City of Orlando and others after a drone struck her child during the 2024 Lake Eola holiday show.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The mother of a child injured during last year’s Downtown Orlando Holiday Drone Show is suing the City of Orlando and several companies over alleged negligence and product defects that she says led to the incident.

7-year-old struck by drone, leads to open-heart surgery

The backstory:

Video shows the red and green-lit drones colliding and plummeting into the crowd during the City of Orlando's holiday drone show at Lake Eola Park on Dec. 21, 2024,

Alezander, 7, underwent open heart surgery after suffering an injury during the City of Orlando's holiday drone show at Lake Eola Park on Saturday, his parents told FOX 35 News. (Credit: Adriana Edgerton)

FOX 35 News spoke with the family of 7-year-old Alezander, immediately following the 2024 incident. His parents, Adriana Edgerton and Jessica Lumsden, said one of the drones knocked him out on impact, causing a chest injury.

As a result of the injury, Alezander underwent open-heart surgery the following day, Dec. 22, 2024, according to his family. The family spent the Christmas holiday in the intensive care unit (ICU).

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Mother files lawsuit, claims Alezander suffered ‘severe and permanent injuries’

What we know:

According to a lawsuit filed Aug. 8 in Orange County Circuit Court, Edgerton claims her child suffered "severe and permanent injuries" on Dec. 21, 2024, when a malfunctioning drone broke formation during the Lake Eola event and struck the child in the face and chest. 

The lawsuit was filed against a Texas-based drone show company, two U.S. and South Korean drone manufacturers, and a Latvian software firm.

The suit alleges the 500-drone performance, produced by Sky Elements LLC for the city, used UVify IFO drones and flight software from SPH Engineering SIA.

The complaint accuses the city of failing to ensure adequate safety measures and of hiring a vendor with prior incidents of drone malfunctions. 

7-year-old recovering from surgery after drone show malfunction

FOX 35's Marie Edinger provides the latest information as a 7-year-old recovers from open heart surgery due to being hit by a drone that malfunctioned during a holiday show in downtown Orlando.

Sky Elements is alleged to have operated the show without sufficient redundancies, safety features or trained personnel. 

UVify and its South Korean affiliate are accused of manufacturing defective drones lacking reliable geofencing and kill-switch protocols, while SPH Engineering is accused of supplying inadequate software controls.

What's next:

Edgerton seeks compensatory damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses and has requested a jury trial.

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What caused the drones to malfunction? 

Dig deeper:

In January 2025, the National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report into what happened during the Christmas drone show at Lake Eola Park in Downtown Orlando.

NTSB releases preliminary report on Orlando drone show

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a holiday drone show at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando that took an unexpected turn when some of the drones fell from the sky, injuring a small child.

According to the report, there were a few minor issues within minutes of the first show starting:

• At first, five of the drones were not accepting launch data.
• Officials troubleshooted some of the Wi-Fi access points and connected all 500 drones to the network.
• Officials conducted a "soft reboot" to bring the shows into "show ready" mode. All but two – 498 drones – seemed ready for the show. The two that did not connect were pulled, the report said.
• Shortly after the first show started, the pilot noted that the drones did not launch "uniformly," and when the drones shifted positions, began to crash into one another.
• The NTSB found that a "launch parameter file" which contained the final flight data for the drones was never sent, and that the "show center was not completely aligned."
• A review of the logs found that the show's position was rotated by 7 degrees. That change in position also allowed the "geo-hard fence" to be too close to the crowds, the report said.

FULL NTSB PRELIMINARY REPORT: