Theme parks are meant to be places of joy where wonderful memories are made. They should be places of fun, not tragedy. Unfortunately, last week at Universal Orlando’s newest theme park, Epic Universe, the worst happened when a guest died following injuries sustained on Stardust Racers, one of the park’s roller coasters. Today, we have new information that provides some answers about the circumstances, but unfortunately, it still leaves us with many questions.
A letter written to all Universal Orlando Resort Team Members by President & COO of Universal Orlando Resort, Karen Irwin has been obtained by Orlando’s WESH. In the letter, Irwin thanks Team Members for their hard work in this difficult time, and it also reveals the results of the initial inspection of Stardust Racers – the roller coaster where the incident took place. It would seem to rule out any sort of mechanical failure or human error as the cause of the death. The letter reads in part,
Our internal findings to date confirm that the ride systems functioned as intended, equipment was intact at the ride’s start, throughout the duration of the ride and upon the ride vehicle’s return to the station, and our Team Members followed procedures.
Last Wednesday, Kevin Rodriguez Zavala was found unresponsive following a ride on Stardust Racers, generally reviewed as one of the best rides at Epic Universe. He was pronounced dead at the hospital some time later. The medical examiner has ruled the death an accident, citing “multiple blunt impact injuries” as the cause of death.
While the investigation is still ongoing, and there will certainly be additional reviews of the attraction itself by outside parties, it at least appears that Stardust Racers was operating properly. Epic Universe has only been open for a few months, so the ride certainly wasn’t old enough to expect something to have broken down. We’ve certainly seen cases of older coasters having structural failures or mechanical difficulties leading to injury. We've also unfortunately seen issues when amusement rides aren't operated within specifications.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has since told WESH that its “current findings align” with what’s said in Irwin’s letter, though it emphasises that the investigation is ongoing.
Stardust Racers has remained closed since the incident, and the initial finding that the attraction was functioning properly doesn’t mean we should expect that to change anytime soon. It’s still far from clear exactly what happened here, and we won't see the ride reopened until there are assurances that guests are safe.
If there had been some sort of malfunction, while that would have been bad for several reasons, at least then there would be an explanation as to what resulted in somebody sustaining injuries on the coaster that resulted in death. As it stands, while that specific cause has seemingly been eliminated, it doesn’t move the investigation any closer to an actual answer.
