On September 17th, 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala passed away. He was riding a roller coaster called the Stardust Racers. This ride can reach speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph). Zavala had a spinal disability that caused him to be in a wheelchair. His father said that he was allowed to ride a roller coaster because he didn’t have any medical limitations; his disability didn’t have anything to do with his death. Zavala loved theme parks and enjoyed riding the roller coasters. 

The family of Zavala hired a lawyer to figure out what happened. The lawyer believes that Zavala got injured on the ride, most likely he hit his head, and then he passed out. The family’s attorney, Natalie Jackson, believes that it was multiple head hits that killed him. The medical examiner at Universal Orlando “ruled the cause of death as multiple blunt impact injuries and said the manner of death was an accident.” Witnesses say that they saw his head hit the back of his seat multiple times when he was passed out during the ride. There was a conference to address this issue in Orlando, and the universal directors said that they checked the ride and everything was running smoothly. Also, they said they’d keep the ride closed until the investigation was over. 

They closed the ride for a bit of time, but they reopened it before the families’ attorney had it investigated. The family found out the ride was opening through news reports; the theme park didn’t let them know. The park updated its policy on physical eligibility requirements for the rides. Universal now wants people in wheelchairs to be able to walk by themselves. They said that they would still use transfer devices to get people into the rides safely. The family’s attorney states that “the policy change regarding riders using mobility devices should have been made before Stardust Racers opened to the public last May.”