\u201cThe manner of death is accident,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
According to the Cleveland Clinic, blunt force trauma occurs when someone sustains an injury from an impact or \u201cforceful movements\u201d. That could lead to injuries such as bone fractures and brain trauma as well as ruptured internal organs, spinal cord injuries or \u201cstrain\u201d injuries such as whiplash.<\/p>\n
In a statement released by the Orange County Fire Rescue Department, Universal said it was co-operating with the sheriff\u2019s office following the \u201ctragic event\u201d. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which investigates accidents involving amusement rides, did not immediately respond to questions on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are devastated by this tragic event and extend our sincerest sympathies to the guest\u2019s loved ones,\u201d Universal said in a statement to the Washington Post on Friday. \u201cWe are fully co-operating with the ongoing investigation. The attraction remains closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stardust Racers is an intense, dual-launch rollercoaster that reaches speeds up to 99km\/h and covers 1524m of track. Loose objects are not allowed and riders have to go through a metal detector to make sure they don\u2019t have anything that could fall.<\/p>\n
According to accessibility information available online, people who ride must be able to independently keep an upright position, support their torso, neck and head \u201cwhile absorbing sudden and dramatic movements\u201d and brace their body with at least one natural upper extremity.<\/p>\n
Amusement park rides are designed, built and operated according to global safety standards, Jakob Wahl, president and chief executive of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cCriteria are detailed for risk assessment, hazard mitigation, rider restraint and dimensions, biomechanical considerations including acceleration limits, mechanical loads, electrical, operating conditions, fencing, handrails, gates, walkways, signage and many other areas,\u201d the statement said. \u201cTesting requires running the rides under normal operating conditions for a certain period of time. Testing would include loading and unloading of the rides, normal operation of the ride, and all the systems associated with the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a ride safety report released by the group, an estimated 503 injuries occurred on rollercoasters in 2022 out of nearly 455 million estimated rides. That amounted to an injury rate of roughly 1.12 per million rides taken.<\/p>\n
In 2021, a woman died from internal bleeding due to a tear in an artery after she rode a rollercoaster at an Indiana theme park, according to media reports. A California family sued an amusement park in that state earlier this year, claiming their 22-year-old son died in 2022 from injuries sustained on a coaster.<\/p>\n
Dennis Speigel, founder of the consulting firm International Theme Park Services, said in an interview that the medical examiner\u2019s report will be key to figuring out what went wrong. He said he would not expect the ride to operate until there is more information on the circumstances of the death and a decision on whether any changes need to be made to the ride.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s on the line? The credibility of Epic Universe, the investment in that ride,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got to get it right, they want to find out and they will investigate it … until the answer is known.\u201d<\/p>\n
Family and friends of Rodriguez Zavala started a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for funeral and memorial expenses after what they described as \u201can unexpected accident\u201d. In the online fundraiser, he is shown in a wheelchair enjoying theme park attractions. He had a pre-existing spinal injury, according to the police report.<\/p>\n
The GoFundMe described him as \u201cwise beyond his years\u201d, loving and loyal.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the restrictions and obstacles he encountered throughout his life, Kevin met them all with grace, strength, and an unwavering spirit,\u201d the fundraiser said. \u201cHe overcame so much, and he did so with quiet resilience and humility.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was remembered as a son, brother, uncle and friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis presence lit up every room, and his absence leaves a space no one can fill,\u201d the GoFundMe page says.<\/p>\n
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe manner of death is accident,\u201d he wrote. According to the Cleveland Clinic, blunt force trauma occurs when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[29894,74,31123,1853,651,634,6179,31125,2147,42,23500,104,2510,43,31122,21529,31124,31119,31120,31121,1961,61,40,38,41,39,26579,23272,686],"class_list":["post-32859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-32yearold","tag-after","tag-blunt","tag-central","tag-close","tag-death","tag-died","tag-epic","tag-florida","tag-headlines","tag-impact","tag-injuries","tag-multiple","tag-news","tag-racers","tag-ride","tag-riding","tag-rollercoaster","tag-spurs","tag-stardust","tag-this","tag-to","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-universal","tag-universe","tag-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}