News Guest dies, found unresponsive after riding Stardust Racers

[flynnibus]

well at least now we have a more reliable cite on where he was sitting.

"were positioned on the ride which was the second to last pair of chairs on the ride vehicle"

And those cars do have a bar higher up than the first car of the train (that his lawyer pointed to).

The statements also describe that Kevin was able to do the transfer (without Uni employees) once the transfer device was setup for him.. with only noting that his GF helped position his legs.

The GF's statements are that he kept hitting his head on the bar in front of them on the drops -
"Javiliz stated she believed he was secured in, however when the ride began the first downhill Kevin flew forward striking his head. Javiliz stated she seen Kevin hit his head multiple times. Javiliz attempted to hold him back but couldn’t do so"
Statements consistent with what we covered here in the thread earlier that being thrown forward would come from the decel segments like bottom of the drops.
Some interesting measurements were taken - but due to name references can be more difficult to interpret

From the edge of the lap-bar to the metal bar: Approximately 16 inches
Back of the Seat to the lap-bar: Approximately 14 inches
From the bottom of the seat to the top of the lap-bar: Approximately 18 inches
Distance between the two lap-bars: Approximately 32 inches

It also clarifies his birth defect as "born with Spinal Cord Atrophy, specifically at his T2-T5 vertebra" - which is consistent with what we heard from his father in the first PC, but was hard to hear.

The doctor who jumped in on the platform who attended to Kevin before EMS had the opinion "Dr. Marshall stated that based on her observations, she felt the broken femurs had a significant role in the fact that Kevin Rodriguez Zavala was able to reach the metal bar in front of him where he assembly struck his head"

Which still leads to an interesting point about the sequence of events. If his legs are broke or his hips compromised, the design of the lap bar is going to be compromised in terms of what it's designed for.. and could lead to his greater range of motion we've all been speculating about. But did they get broke and then he flopped around, or were they secondary injuries?

We don't know if Kevin was fully numb in his legs. It is possible to have a breakage and not know it if he were numb. While his GF cites the staff pressing down on his lapbar multiple times, I don't think that is as damning as it may sound. I know from my own visit, my coworker had that same issue on multiple rides at the park and he's not huge... just probably 240ish or something. So belly, but not massive.. and he needed the 'extra pushes' to get in the green too. So just needing that extra help isn't damning on its own.

 

[lewisc]

2 or 3 attempts to secure the lap bar. Could that have damaged his hip?

 

[mergatroid]

2 or 3 attempts to secure the lap bar. Could that have damaged the hip?

How sad if that's what caused it and he didn't know. I'm sure his family want closure.

 

[ToTBellHop]

2 or 3 attempts to secure the lap bar. Could that have damaged his hip?

I would hope TMs aren’t that forceful, but if they were, I would expect a policy change that TMs can’t help secure restraints, which would limit a number of guests from riding many attractions.

 

[flynnibus]

I would hope TMs aren’t that forceful, but if they were, I would expect a policy change that TMs can’t help secure restraints, which would limit a number of guests from riding many attractions.

That's why I mentioned if he was numb or not. We don't know how bad his atrophy was.. because for people with bone density issues you can get breakages from what would otherwise be innocuous things. My nephew had his humerus broken by someone just grabbing his arm because he had a density/void defect that was unknown at the time.

My first thought was if he broke his bones during the restraint setup and just didn't know it.. but I still think this is highly unlikely considering the amount of surface area the restraint has and the amount of space the restraint needs for minimum locking. If they were having difficultly getting the restraint to go green, that means it had the least amount of travel.. not the most. So the gap between the lapbar and the seat would have been at it's maximum. (yes, the body fills that space.. ).

UNI changing policy here would be a very bad thing. One, the amount of times it needs to be done is like.. every cycle. So if you relied on customers to fix it.. it would kill operations. Two, it's the kind of thing that is very difficult to do to yourself.. so customers are far less effective at it.. which would ultimately mean a lot more people failing and needing to unload.. which would have upset guests AND horrible impact on ops. And lastly, the potential for this to cause harm is so low.. it would be a really bad trade-off IMO.

I think all the information in the report does help shift more responsibility to the victim's particular circumstances.. the question becomes though is the risk meaningful to other people.

Topics that haven't been brought up are things like body shape.. is it possible his body was shaped so the lapbar maybe 'bottomed out' on his gut but maybe didn't properly trap his legs? Due to atrophy did he have very undersized legs that could mean little to no contact with the lapbar? So instead of your hips being held into a corner... he was held against the back, but not really up/down. That could be a possibility...

Clearly this design wasn't safe for his body type... it's a question of what the particular deficiencies are, and if they should be targeted, or should you exclude more people that fit that criteria. I still don't like the criteria that it's up to the person to support themselves... because that doesn't account for blackouts.

 

[flynnibus]

The more I study video... I am more and more convinced the issue had to be the victim not having motor control combined with some physique specifics.

You get thrown up and down like an ejector seat many times in this ride. That's forces that normally are being applied right to your femur and hips by the lapbar. If your legs can't take that.. your body is really going to be a lot less secured. If the lapbar can't correctly lock into your hips... the forces are really going to be worse on your legs as the back of your legs are trapped in the contoured seat, but your hips and torso move upwards. So it's critical that the lapbar is able to hold you in the CORNER. If it can't hold you in both axis.. it's gonna really put a lot more stress on your body. His leg bones would be weaker due to the lack of use.

"Javiliz Cruz-Robles explained on the first drop Kevin Rodriguez Zavala partially came up out of his seat and hit his head on the metal bar in front of them. As the ride continued, Javiliz Cruz-Robles said he continually hit his head on the bar in front of them as the ride descended"

I'm not clear if she is referring to the bar on the restraint itself, or the rail at the front of the ride vehicle itself.

It's still very unclear why he had this first impact. Could he simply not support his neck/torso on this kind of restraint? Was he already weakened due to something else? (he could have been bleeding internally if the leg break was earlier)

I still am struggling to understand the statements about his leg position when the train entered the station. One said "His left leg was at a 90 degree angle in between the lap bar"
Another states
"the guest was stuck on the ride vehicle face down, falling out of the seat, with legs inverted"
And the doctor's comment was
"Zavala’s femur was completely broken in half and resting on the back of the chair."

I just can't follow the description these folks gave to understand what the resting position was.. except for the presumption they were no longer straight

I don't think the standard investigations are going to get into the ride design for a 'rag doll situation' and unless the family force it through the courts I don't see it happening. I think we're gonna be left with the belief it's some corner case and they are going to just stick with people need to be able to hold themselves up right.

I think it's worthy to investigate if the lap bar needs to be a metal loop and why that rail at the front of the car even needs to be there vs something safer.

 

[Disney Analyst]

It's all very confusing, and I am certain was incredibly traumatizing for his girlfriend to witness helplessly.

It's hard to understand how all of this could happen, but it does seem like he sadly had preconditions that likely should have excluded him from riding, especially if bones are breaking this easily. Hard to know if he was even aware of these conditions at the time.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

It's all very confusing, and I am certain was incredibly traumatizing for his girlfriend to witness helplessly.

It's hard to understand how all of this could happen, but it does seem like he sadly had preconditions that likely should have excluded him from riding, especially if bones are breaking this easily. Hard to know if he was even aware of these conditions at the time.

Especially the femurs!

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

The more information that comes out the more I kind of just standby what I said at the very beginning. This was an incredibly tragic event that was set in motion by a very specific set of circumstances that essentially nobody involved could have really have seen coming. I don’t think it’s a problem with the ride itself or a problem of how it’s operated, it seems to have just unfortunately been multiple players in a scenario not operating with all of the necessary information needed to prevent this from happening. And that’s really tragic. But if there’s one highlight to come from this it’s that this is an industry that takes these sorts of events very seriously, and it will be used as an opportunity to better theme parks for everyone. Of course, that is pretty much no consolation to his family, but it is my hope that information that comes from this and lessons that get learned about it will continue to improve things across the board and educate everyone

 

[flynnibus]

So medical examiner's report was released Friday... I'm still trying to find the report itself.. but reporting on it basically rules it accidential, and no charges pending from the sherriff.

Breaking news today is attorneys are saying they have reached an agreement with UNI..

Kevin Rodriguez Zavala's family, Universal reach agreement in Epic Universe Stardust Racers death: Attorneys

A settlement has been reached between Universal and the family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, who died after riding Epic Universe's Stardust Racers coasters, attorney Ben Crump has announced. The details were kept confidential.

www.fox35orlando.com

Still digging for details @wdwmagic

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The more information that comes out the more I kind of just standby what I said at the very beginning. This was an incredibly tragic event that was said in motion by a very specific set of circumstances that essentially nobody involved could have really have seen coming. I don’t think it’s a problem with the ride itself or a problem of how it’s operated, it seems to have just unfortunately been multiple players in a scenario, not operating with all of the necessary information needed to prevent this from happening. And that’s really tragic. But if there’s one highlight to come from this. It’s that this is an industry that takes these sorts of events very seriously, and it will be used as an opportunity to better theme parks for everyone. Of course, that is pretty much no consolation to his family, but it is my hope that information that comes from this in lessons that get learned about it will continue to improve things across the board and educate everyone

Seems to be an unforeseeable “swiss cheese model accident”, one thing changes, the holes don’t line up, and the tragedy doesn’t happen.

 

[flynnibus]

Kevin Rodriguez Zavala's family, Universal reach agreement in Epic Universe Stardust Racers death: Attorneys

A settlement has been reached between Universal and the family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, who died after riding Epic Universe's Stardust Racers coasters, attorney Ben Crump has announced. The details were kept confidential.

www.fox35orlando.com

""The family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala and Universal have reached an amicable resolution in this matter. The terms are confidential. The family is grateful for the community’s support and asks for privacy at this time.""

Medical examiner releases autopsy report in Epic Universe roller coaster death

The autopsy report says one of the disks in Kevin Rodriguez Zavala's neck as severely damaged, and he had a broken leg.

mynews13.com

"The autopsy report summary says Zavala’s blunt impact injuries included:

• Cutaneous or skin lacerations, contusion and abrasion
• Fractures of the left orbit and nasal cartilage
• C5-C6 intervertebral disk laceration in his neck
• A fracture of the right femur"

Dr. David Sugar, who has been an orthopedic doctor in Sarasota for 28 years, reviewed the autopsy report and shared his insights.

“For the femur to have broken like that, it makes me think, for example, that something was pinned against the femur holding it, and then the rest of his body was propelled forward or backward, but probably forward," Sugar said"

Like I said the other day.. the bar against the leg when weakened would be a problem if the rest of his body wasn't secure.

"
Sugar said the covering around one of the disks in Kevin’s neck was badly damaged and caused bleeding around his spinal cord.

“That covering tore. It lacerated, and the only way that’s going happen is a high energy type of mechanism, like a severe whiplash type of movement," he said."


So this matter is effectively closed as far as legal matters.. and the only change is the policy from UNI about guests needing to be able to transfer themselves and the language about supporting themselves.

But no real insight into why the victim couldn't support himself from making the impact that probably knocked him out.. nor further opinions that the ride design should account for a 'rag doll' situation.

 

[flynnibus]

But if there’s one highlight to come from this. It’s that this is an industry that takes these sorts of events very seriously, and it will be used as an opportunity to better theme parks for everyone

Well, if they are making further mprovements.. no one is talking.. because now everyone has settled up and the matter is closed from a liability perspective.

 

[mergatroid]

Let's hope his family can get some sort of closure now. What a tragic event which hopefully will never happen again. R.I.P. Kevin.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I standby by my thoughts… It sure seems like a restraint system like space mountain in Paris would have prevented this death.

 

[Chi84]

I standby by my thoughts… It sure seems like a restraint system like space mountain in Paris would have prevented this death.

That’s very possible and it’s likely the reason Uni has now imposed additional restrictions on who can ride.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

That’s very possible and it’s likely the reason Uni has now imposed additional restrictions on who can ride.

Is the proper solution limit who can ride? Or provide the safest attraction possible?

 

[Chi84]

Is the proper solution limit who can ride? Or provide the safest attraction possible?

It depends on whether the solution would alter the fundamental nature of the ride.

I don’t ride these things anymore but I imagine different restraint systems would result in a different experience.

 

[flynnibus]

All of these systems realistically are only "safe enough" - they can't be fool proof to all conditions, we just have to be sure companies embrace what are reasonable conditions to build for.

I still don't like the fear that a 'rag doll' situation could risk serious blunt force injury. I'd like to see that mapped out to ensure it's not a risk and ensure other attractions don't have similar concerns. Which in the current attraction means, explain why this victim was able to contact these surfaces but why we should assume others would not.

I also wonder how much of a contributor factor was the fact the ride didn't stop. Would this event had been survivable if the ride was stopped? Yes I know the concerns about evacs out on the ride path, and debates about 'is it better to stop here, or at the station?', and the question over which may actually be faster to get help to a victim.. but it sure sounds plausible that in this accident, the fact the ride continued may have sealed this victim's fate. It's not a simple fix, nor a universal one, but makes you wonder... should guests be monitored during the ride? This is something actually technology could assist with.. monitoring video feeds and then alerting the control tower to intervene. Something to consider in future designs..

 

[Jrb1979]

It depends on whether the solution would alter the fundamental nature of the ride.

I don’t ride these things anymore but I imagine different restraint systems would result in a different experience.

While over the shoulder restraints may have saved this man, it would make the ride uncomfortable for the majority of riders.
On Stardust racers it has ejector air time rather than the floater air time most Disney coasters have.

Unlike gentle "floater" airtime, Stardust Racers delivers sharp, forceful lifts off the seat. If you had Over the shoulder restraints, your upper body would be slamming into the restraints which would be uncomfortable for most riders.