Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, who died after riding a roller coaster last month at Epic Universe, was one of a dozen people taken to the hospital from Florida’s theme parks during the third quarter of the year, according to a new state report.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services released the latest theme park injury report. Universal, Disney and Florida’s other theme parks must self-report when guests are hurt or sick on a ride and require at least 24 hours in the hospital.
The report listed Rodriguez Zavala’s death on Sept. 17. His family has retained lawyer Ben Crump, who said he died from multiple blunt force trauma to the head after riding Stardust Racers. Crump and his team are working with Universal to inspect the ride and determine what happened.
Other theme park visitors felt neck pain, headaches, dizziness and chest pain at other Universal thrill rides, while several people reported falling down at Disney World. One person also got hit in the head in a Disney water park wave pool.
Rodriguez Zavala’s death has raised more questions over theme park safety and renewed calls for more public transparency, as Florida’s theme parks aren’t required to disclose as many details as California’s theme parks.
According to Florida’s latest report, a 40-year-old woman felt an “altered level of consciousness” after riding Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, a coaster at Universal Island of Adventure. The woman had a preexisting condition, but the report did not say what it was.
A 66-year-old man with a preexisting condition felt chest pain, and a 56-year-old man felt a headache after they both rode the Incredible Hulk coaster at the same park.
A 32-year-old female felt neck pain and motion sickness after Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor coaster at Universal Studios.
A 38-year-old woman also felt neck pain on a water coaster at Universal’s Volcano Bay.
A 78-year-old felt dizzy on the Hogwarts Express train connecting the two Universal parks.
A 56-year-old woman “was struck on the head by another guest” at the wave pool in Disney World’s Typhoon Lagoon water park. A 44-year-old woman fell and hit head at Miss Adventure Falls, a raft ride at the same water park.
A 77-year-old woman fell while exiting the Na’vi River Journey boat ride in Animal Kingdom and injured her ankle.
A 50-year-old man also reported chest pain leaving Toy Story Mania! That’s a 4D shooting-style dark ride at Hollywood Studios.
At SeaWorld, a 22-year-old “experienced a medical illness after riding” the Kraken roller coaster, the report said. The 22-year-old had “prior medical conditions” but the report did not detail them.