{"id":79265,"date":"2025-12-11T02:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T02:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/79265\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T02:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T02:13:20","slug":"universal-altered-report-about-roller-coaster-death-after-state-agency-intervened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/79265\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal altered report about roller coaster death after state agency intervened"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Universal Orlando removed a reference to \u201cpre-existing conditions\u201d in a report about a roller coaster rider\u2019s death<\/a> after a Florida government agency intervened, a News 6 investigation has uncovered.<\/p>\n

Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, who was born with spinal atrophy and used a wheelchair, was found unconscious after riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster at Epic Universe on Sept. 17.<\/p>\n

Although the medical examiner determined Zavala died accidentally from \u201cmultiple blunt impact injuries<\/a>,\u201d Universal Orlando executives and law enforcement investigators have not disclosed how the 32-year-old sustained those fatal injuries.<\/p>\n

Likewise, no one with firsthand knowledge of the incident had publicly associated Rodriguez Zavala\u2019s disability with his death until Universal Orlando noted \u201cpre-existing conditions\u201d in a report sent to a state agency this fall.<\/p>\n

[BELOW: Guest dies after riding Stardust Racers at Universal Epic Universe]<\/p>\n

The company later removed the words \u201cpre-existing conditions\u201d from the public report after discussing it with at least one state employee, News 6 has learned.<\/p>\n

Details from that altered report were eventually published on the government website<\/a> for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or FDACS, along with similar incident reports from other large theme park operators.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe inquired with Universal about the inclusion of \u2018pre-existing conditions\u2019 and they determined to submit an updated report,\u201d a spokesperson for Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson told News 6 in response to questions about the altered document.<\/p>\n

Original report sent by Universal Orlando to Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Oct. 14. (Public Record)<\/p>\n

Under Florida law, amusement rides at large theme parks like Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World that employ more than 1,000 people and have full-time, in-house safety inspectors are exempt from state oversight.<\/p>\n

Instead, under a separate \u201cmemorandum of understanding,\u201d<\/a> those large theme park operators are required to self-report to FDACS all ride-related fatalities and injuries that result in more than 24 hours of hospitalization.<\/p>\n

[BELOW: Stardust Racers reopening with new safety rules after guest\u2019s death]<\/p>\n

A paralegal in Universal Orlando\u2019s risk management department sent FDACS the company\u2019s most recent quarterly report in October via email, documents obtained by News 6 through a public record request show.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease find attached the reportable ride incidents for Universal Orlando from Q3 2025,\u201d the email stated.<\/p>\n

The attached spreadsheet listed six reported injuries linked to the company\u2019s theme park attractions, including a 56-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital with a headache after riding the Incredible Hulk roller coaster and a 78-year-old woman who rode the Hogwarts Express train and was later hospitalized with dizziness.<\/p>\n

The spreadsheet also noted a death linked to the Stardust Racers roller coaster Sept. 17 involving a 32-year-old male.<\/p>\n

\u201cFatality (pre-existing conditions)\u201d the report stated in the incident description.<\/p>\n

That brief disclosure in the report is noteworthy because it is the first known instance of Universal Orlando publicly associating Rodriguez Zavala\u2019s death with his pre-existing medical conditions.<\/p>\n

Universal Orlando submitted the report to FDACS Oct. 14, nearly one month after Zavala\u2019s death and 10 days after the company reopened the Stardust Racers roller coaster.<\/p>\n

But about 27 hours later, records obtained by News 6 reveal Universal Orlando sent a second, altered document to the state agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the report we intend to submit for Universal Orlando for Q3 2025,\u201d a litigation manager in the company\u2019s risk management department wrote in an Oct. 15 email.<\/p>\n

The spreadsheet attached to the email was nearly identical to the one the company sent FDACS the previous day, but the reference to Rodriguez Zavala\u2019s \u201cpre-existing conditions\u201d had been removed from the document.<\/p>\n

[BELOW: Attorney questions Universal\u2019s safety measures after complaints of Stardust Racers coaster]<\/p>\n

Universal Orlando representatives did not respond to questions from News 6 asking why the company altered its original report sent to the state.<\/p>\n

An FDACS spokesperson told News 6 the agency did not have concerns about Universal\u2019s original fatality report.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company either needed to list the pre-existing condition or remove the cause,\u201d said FDACS communications director Aaron Keller. \u201cUniversal has been extremely transparent with the department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keller did not immediately provide details about that apparent mandate to list pre-existing conditions. The two-page \u201cmemorandum of understanding\u201d<\/a> between FDACS and large theme park operators does not specifically require the companies to document known medical conditions in their written reports to the agency.<\/p>\n

Universal Orlando\u2019s most recent injury report to FDACS included two other entries that were associated with a \u201cpre-existing condition,\u201d including a 66-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital with chest pain after riding The Incredible Hulk roller coaster.<\/p>\n

Those two entries remained in Universal Orlando\u2019s final version of the injury report.<\/p>\n

The FDACS spokesperson did not immediately disclose whether Universal Orlando provided the agency with specific details about the pre-existing conditions noted in those additional entries. Emails sent by Universal Orlando to FDACS do not mention any specific medical conditions for the two injured theme park visitors.<\/p>\n

Lawyers representing Rodriguez Zavala\u2019s family have denied that the 32-year-old\u2019s disability contributed to his death.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Crump, the family\u2019s attorney<\/a>, has also rejected suggestions that Rodriguez Zavala may have ignored posted signs warning the roller coaster was not allowed for guests with certain medical issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid Mr. Rodriguez Zavala have \u2018back, neck, or similar physical conditions?\u2019\u201d a News 6 reporter asked Crump at an Oct. 7 news conference, citing language from the roller coaster\u2019s warning signs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean? He was fine. He was disabled,\u201d replied Crump.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was so vague that it was not a clear warning,\u201d said Natalie Jackson, another attorney who represents Rodriguez Zavala\u2019s family. \u201cHe did not have any ongoing pain, or anything like that. He had a lifelong spinal disease and disorder. That is lifelong that he lived with. So there was nothing about being able to walk. There was nothing about being in a wheelchair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crump and Jackson did not respond to emails from News 6 offering an opportunity to comment on this story.<\/p>\n

FDACS dispatched three state amusement ride inspectors to Epic Universe after Rodriguez Zavala\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Those inspectors, who FDACS said were invited by Universal Orlando to observe testing and inspections of Stardust Racers, did not write any reports or take any photos documenting their observations, News 6 previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The state agency later issued a public statement indicating it concurred with Universal Orlando\u2019s internal assessment that the Stardust Racers roller coaster \u201cfunctioned as intended.\u201d<\/p>\n

The medical examiner and the Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office have declined to release records related to Rodriguez Zavala\u2019s death, including his autopsy report, citing an exemption to Florida\u2019s public record law that allows law enforcement agencies to withhold \u201cactive criminal investigative information\u201d.<\/p>\n

According to that Florida law<\/a>, \u201ccriminal investigative information shall be considered \u2018active\u2019 as long as it is related to an ongoing investigation which is continuing with a reasonable, good faith anticipation of securing an arrest or prosecution in the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Universal Orlando removed a reference to \u201cpre-existing conditions\u201d in a report about a roller coaster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4424,6113,28,2026,1335,139,141,140,9456,2411,3435,3434],"class_list":{"0":"post-79265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-death-investigation","9":"tag-epic-universe","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-investigators","12":"tag-orange-county","13":"tag-orlando","14":"tag-orlando-headlines","15":"tag-orlando-news","16":"tag-stardust-racers","17":"tag-theme-parks","18":"tag-universal","19":"tag-universal-orlando"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}