ORLANDO, Fla. — We are learning more about the Universal rollercoaster that Kevin Zavala rode before being pronounced dead at the hospital.
The Orange County Medical Examiner says Zavala died by multiple blunt impact injuries.
Stardust Racers, manufactured by German company Mack Rides, is the largest roller coaster built by the company.
Universal opened its longest roller coaster, Stardust Racers in May, when it opened its Epic Universe theme park. Recent reports show there have been incidents on the ride before.
In June, Universal self-reported two incidents on the ride, involving a 63-year-old guest who became dizzy and a 47-year-old guest who experienced numbness, both of whom had preexisting conditions.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer says Universal has a duty of care to its guest, stating that the park is responsible for providing a reasonably safe environment for its guests.
Universal conducts its own inspections of the rides due to having more than a thousand employees, which exempts it from state inspections. Sheaffer explained that Universal is responsible for detecting any defects in the ride, even if they were not known before. He added that if a latent defect exists, it could involve the manufacturer and installer in the liability picture, but it does not absolve Universal of responsibility. So far, there’s been no reported defects with the ride.
Universal says its cooperating with Orange County’s death investigation.
We reached out to Mack Rides but have not heard back.
International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions released a statement about general safety measures taken before a ride can open to the public:
“The amusement industry designs, builds and operates rides according to global safety standards. Rides have been successfully designed, tested and operated to those standards for decades. Florida regulations require rides to be designed, tested and operated according to ASTM F24 global safety standards. The design standard includes requirements for technical areas of the ride. Criteria are detailed for risk assessment, hazard mitigation, rider restraint and dimensions, biomechanical considerations including acceleration limits, mechanical loads, electrical, operating conditions, fencing, handrails, gates, walkways, signage and many other areas. Testing requires running the rides under normal operating conditions for a certain period of time. Testing would include loading and unloading of the rides, normal operation of the ride, and all the systems associated with the ride,” Jakob Wahl, CEO and president of IAAPA.
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