ORLANDO, Fla. — Officials with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday they had completed the investigation into the death of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala on Stardust Racers at Epic Universe, earlier this year.
New documents from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office reveal new details related to his Sep. 17 death.
Kevin Zavala died after suffering multiple blunt impact injuries while riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster, according to the medical examiner. The death was ruled accidental.
The newly released incident report includes sworn statements from people at the scene, including Universal team members.
A statement from an employee details moving the victim, who had a pre-existing spinal injury, stated Zavala met all safety restrictions and “able” procedures.
Another employee stated, “He was loaded onto the vehicle, and I checked his lap bar. I followed proper procedures, and when I noticed his indicator was in the red, but enough to where the lap bar could be adjusted, for our procedures.”
The employee stated the lap bar was readjusted, and the indicator stated he was good to ride. Witness statements reveal Zavala hit his head several times during the ride. He was unresponsive when the ride vehicle returned to the platform, according to the report.
The report revealed that the sheriff’s office views the incident as an accidental death and was closed accordingly.
Local and state investigators continue looking into the death.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates theme park rides, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office had investigators on the scene in September to try to determine what happened.
Chief Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany, M.D. with Orange and Osceola counties stated that an autopsy was performed and the cause of death was “multiple blunt impact injuries.”