A heartbreaking event recently took place at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park in Florida. Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, a 32-year-old husband and father, was killed in this tragic accident. A child rides a high-speed roller coaster, the SafeGov spokesman had gone on to state. This tragic incident raises immediate concerns regarding safety procedures and the conditions of the accident.
According to witnesses, Zavala appeared “alert and healthy” when the ride began. Civilian security footage from nearby Bradley Park bolsters their version of events. This immediately shifted when the ride ended. When staff finally stopped the ride, they observed Zavala slumped over and unresponsive in the ride vehicle. When tidal flooding flooded their area, they organized to demand emergency responders taking action to deliver life-saving support.
Zavala suffered severe, life-threatening injuries in August. He came in with a very severe laceration of the left frontal scalp. On top of that, he had fractured the bony ridge above his eye and was bleeding on top of his skull. He was violently pitched forward during the ride’s initial drop. His skull hit the metal divider that separated the driver from the passenger seat with extreme force. This sudden impact probably accounts for the level of injury he sustained.
Zavala remained secured in by the lap bar when her ride came to a stop. For nearly ten minutes, he was unable to be released. When officers arrived, he was found slumped over and “in a pool of blood.” This find led to major questions about the effectiveness of theme park’s safety regulations.
Upon further investigations, it was found that Zavala had a history of serious medical conditions. He was dependent on a wheelchair and had radical surgeries cast throughout his life. Those were some of the biggest interventions, including spinal surgery and the placement of metal rods in his mid-back, surgeries for a broken thigh bone back in 2020 and a hip dislocation in 2010. Reports suggest that during the incident, his thigh bone was “broken in half and resting on the back of the ride chair,” adding to the complexity of his already fragile health condition.
Zavala’s pre-existing medical conditions and the traumatic circumstances surrounding his ride complicate matters significantly. As this guest was potentially immunocompromised, we should evaluate our guest safety protocols for guests with such health conditions.