The family of a young girl who tragically lost her life in 2021 after a mishap on a rollercoaster ride has been awarded $205 million in a wrongful death suit. Wongel Estifanos, just six years old, fell from her seat on a ride at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park located in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
On September 5, Wongel was at the park with her family. According to the family’s lawsuit, her uncle took her, along with his children, wife, and another relative, on the ‘Haunted Mine Drop’ ride.
The complaint, as reported by PEOPLE, states that “when the ride came to stop at the bottom of the mine shaft, Wongel’s uncle checked to see whether Wongel had enjoyed the ride” and was horrified to find she was not in her seat but at the bottom of the mine shaft.
The documentation further reveals: “Wongel had fallen to her death, suffering numerous fractures, brain injuries, and internal and external lacerations. As Wongel’s uncle and other relatives on the ride screamed in horror and tried to get out of the ride to run to Wongel, the ride would not release them, and pulled them 110 feet back up to the top of the mine shaft.”
An investigation by the Colorado Department of Labour and Employment’s Division of Oil and Public Safety concluded that the tragedy resulted from “multiple operator errors” and “violations of the Colorado Amusement Rides and Devices Regulations, and enforcement will be pursued.”
The investigators discovered that Wongel was not adequately strapped in, leading her to be separated from the ride during its 110-foot descent. It was also noted that employees, who had been hired only two months earlier, made several mistakes, including resetting the ride’s seatbelt monitors, which allowed the ride to operate.
The complaint also referenced a report by Colorado state investigators, alleging that Wongel was sitting on top of the two seatbelts meant to secure her.
Wongel’s family filed their wrongful death lawsuit on September 19, 2022. According to a report by the Denver Post, the jury held the defendants, Glenwood Caverns Holdings, the park’s parent company, and Soaring Eagle, the ride’s designer, responsible for $82 million in non-economic damages and $123 million in punitive damages.
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park commented on the verdict in a statement to PEOPLE.
The statement read: “Our hearts go out to the family of Wongel Estifanos and everyone affected by the tragic accident that happened on September 5, 2021.
“While the jury allocated significant fault on the other defendant, Soaring Eagle, Inc., the size of the total jury verdict award puts the existence of Glenwood Caverns at serious risk. If the jury verdict remains as it is, hundreds of local jobs are in peril.”
The park claimed that Soaring Eagle failed to ensure the ride met the required standards.
Their statement explained: “Soaring Eagle certified to Glenwood Caverns that the ride met all applicable standards, but that was not true.
“They failed to perform the required engineering and risk analyses that would have undoubtedly prevented this death. In addition, Soaring Eagle was aware of two prior ejections from this same restraint design—information they hid from the world.
“Glenwood Caverns was devastated by this accident and worked with independent engineers (and not with Soaring Eagle) to redesign and re-engineer the ride to prevent an accident like this from ever occurring again.”
In 2022, CBS News reported that the park announced several changes would be implemented for the Haunted Mine Drop ride.
Soaring Eagle has been contacted for comment.