ORLANDO (WFLA) — Survivors of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, the theme-park visitor who died after riding the roller coaster at Florida’s Epic Universe earlier this month, are seeking answers.
Rodriguez Zavala, 32, was found unresponsive after riding the Stardust Racers coaster on Sept. 17. He later died at a hospital after suffering what the Orange County Medical Examiner confirmed to be multiple blunt force injuries.
The manner of death was also determined to be an accident, the chief medical examiner for Orange and Osceola counties. No other details about the “blunt impact” injuries have been released.
State investigators have more recently said they concur with a Universal internal memo that indicated the Epic Universe roller coaster was functioning properly when Rodriguez Zavala became unresponsive. But an attorney for the man’s family — prominent civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump — argued at a Wednesday press conference that the investigator’s findings don’t necessarily mean the ride was safe.
“Just because there’s no malfunction, doesn’t mean that there were not safety issues that should have been addressed to prevent this beautiful soul from being taken from his family,” Crump said.
Lisa Cruz Rodriguez, speaking at the press conference, said her brother was an old soul, someone who would listen no matter what.
“I just don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” Cruz Rodriguez said.
The last time she spoke to her brother was last Wednesday. He was at Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe, excited to explore the new theme park, she said.
“It’s a tragedy of losing Kevin,” Crump said. “It’ll be an even bigger tragedy if we didn’t learn from it.”
Crump and his office stated that the young roller coaster enthusiast suffered injuries to his head.
“Our investigation, so far, has confirmed that Kevin suffered repeated head injuries during the ride and was unconscious for the majority of the duration of the ride,” said Natalie Jackson, cor-director of litigation for Ben Crump Law, PLLC.
Jackson said despite Rodriguez Zavala’s spinal condition, which he had from birth, the 32-year-old lived a full life and rode roller coasters many times before the Stardust incident. He had no medical emergency at the time of the incident, attorneys said.
“His disability did not kill him,” she said.
The family of Rodriguez Zavala is seeking full transparency, including the release of maintenance logs, inspection records, ride data, and video footage, to understand the circumstances surrounding his death, the law office announced. They also want the Stardust Racers ride to be shut down while the investigation is under investigation.
“Hopefully we will find out more when Universal is transparent to let us see video, let our experts examine the ride ourself,” Crump said.
Karen Irwin, Universal Orlando Resort president and CEO, said safety is at the forefront of what they do, adding the ride systems functioned as intended and equipment was intact.
“You still got to explain why does this young man end up dead from blunt force trauma?” Crump said.
Crump also represented the family of Tyree Sampson, who died in March 2022 after falling from a ride at Florida’s Icon Park.
