ORLANDO, Fla. — Multiple people have reached out with related stories to the family of a 32-year-old man who died of blunt force injuries two weeks ago while riding the new Stardust Racers roller coaster at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park, the attorney for the man’s family said Tuesday.
People who’ve contacted the family and Ben Crump’s law office since Kevin Rodriguez Zavala died Sept. 17 while riding the roller coaster include a woman who says she lost consciousness and suffered neck and spine injuries soon after the ride opened in May, Crump said during a news conference in Orlando.
The woman reached out to Zavala’s family on a GoFundMe page and told them about the experience she had on the roller coaster.
“All we want is answers regarding my son’s death,” Zavala’s mother, Ana Zavala, said through an interpreter at Tuesday’s news conference. “We want these answers so we can be able to honor him. We want these answers so we can have some peace. It is extremely difficult losing a son and we do not wish this pain on anyone.”
The dual-launch coaster reaches speeds up to 62 mph (100 kph) and debuted officially in May when Universal Orlando Resort’s newest theme park opened to the public.
A spokeswoman for Universal didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry on Tuesday.
Separately, a central Florida woman sued Universal last week saying she had suffered injuries while on the roller coaster. Sandi Streets said her head shook violently and slammed into her seat’s headrest when she was on the ride in April, before the park’s official opening, giving her permanent injuries, according to the lawsuit.
Crump questioned what Universal did after receiving reports from the woman and others who said they were injured on the ride.
“She told them that you all need to do something about this because someone is going to be seriously injured, or worse, they’re going to be killed