ORLANDO, Fla. — Ben Crump, the attorney for the family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, says Universal’s decision to reopen the Stardust Racers roller coaster is “disrespectful.”
The medical examiner determined Rodriguez Zavala died from multiple blunt force injuries after riding the roller coaster.
Universal says the ride functioned as intended.
Crump says his team was working with Universal to set a time for their team to inspect the ride. They wanted to inspect the ride in the condition Stardust Racers was at the time of Rodriguez Zavala’s death. However, the family and attorney say they found out the ride was reopening like everyone else.
They claim Universal never reached out to them in advance.
The family and their attorneys described Universal’s decision as “premature,” “heartbreaking” and a “slap in the face.”
Crump says his team was never able to bring in an inspector to look at the ride before it reopened.
“You all have the responsibility of his death at your feet. You can’t go on with business as usual, trying to sweep it under the rug,” Crump said.
During a press conference Monday morning, Crump repeatedly read off the same sentence in a letter Universal Orlando’s president, Karen Irwin, wrote to team members, saying “Safety is, and always will be, at the forefront of everything we do.”
“It doesn’t mean anything if your actions don’t match your words,” Crump said after tearing Irwin’s letter.
Rodriguez Zavala’s sister-in-law read a statement on behalf of his father, saying “They reopened the ride as if his life didn’t matter and his death wasn’t worth answering for. We’re not here to tear Universal down. We’re here to lift safety standards up.”
His mother says they want answers on what caused their son’s death.
“We do not want another family to go through what we are all going through,” said Ana Zavala. “I continue to toss and turn at night, trying to figure out why they don’t think my son’s life mattered. If this were their children, I don’t think they would have opened this ride so quickly.”
Crump admits that though his team demanded for the ride to be shut down, they never tried to get an emergency court injunction from a judge.
“We trusted Universal. We trusted Universal and like Kevin, trust was betrayed. Apparently, ours was too,” Crump said.
Even before Rodriguez Zavala’s death, Epic Universe’s safety and accessibility guide stated Stardust Racers is not allowed for guests with back, neck or similar physical conditions. Rodriguez Zavala was born with spinal cord atrophy and was in a wheelchair.
But as of this Saturday, the park updated the guide, adding guests should not ride if they have “weakened bones or muscles,” “if they have the inability to independently maintain an upright position,” or “if they have any other condition which may be aggravated.”
“When you think about this change of policy, it’s a day late, a dollar short,” Crump said. “It shouldn’t be after somebody is killed that you go over your safety protocol.”
WFTV reached out to Universal for comment after the family and attorney’s news conference but have not heard back.
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