A significant verdict was reached by a jury, awarding $205 million to the family of a young girl who tragically lost her life on a ride at a Glenwood Springs amusement park in 2021.
The verdict, announced on Friday, concluded a lawsuit surrounding the death of 6-year-old Wongel Estifanos, who passed away at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park over Labor Day weekend.
Wongel was visiting the park with her family from Colorado Springs when the incident occurred on a ride called the Haunted Mine Drop. Due to not being properly secured, she fell from her seat on the ride, plummeting 110 feet into a tunnel.
The lawsuit, filed by Estifanos Dagne and Rahel Estifanos, alleged that their daughter’s death was a result of the park’s negligence and lack of adequate training. The lawsuit named Glenwood Caverns Holdings, the park’s parent company, Soaring Eagle, the ride’s design company, and the two individuals operating the ride.
The lawsuit claimed that the park had been made aware of lax seat-belt checks on the ride in 2018 and 2019, yet failed to disclose these incidents to state authorities. According to the lawsuit, Wongel was sitting on her seat belt when the ride started.
Dan Caplis, a Denver-area attorney representing the girl’s parents, stated that the jury’s decision was well-reasoned and would potentially prevent similar tragedies in the future.
An attempt to reach the owners of Glenwood Caverns for comment was unsuccessful.
“For four years, Glenwood Caverns denied any responsibility for Wongel’s tragic death, who fell ten stories from a ride. The parents took this case to trial to reveal the truth and hopefully prevent future incidents,” Caplis remarked in a statement.
Caplis expressed gratitude on behalf of Wongel’s family towards the jury and the community of Garfield County. The trial was conducted in Garfield County District Court in Glenwood Springs.
State investigations revealed that the ride’s system had been tampered with to bypass an alarm warning about an unsecured passenger. The investigation determined that Wongel’s death was a result of multiple errors by the ride operators and inadequate training. The operators had been hired just a few weeks before the tragic incident.
The jury concluded that the defendants were liable for $82 million in non-economic damages to the Estifanos family and $123 million in punitive damages. Caplis specified that Glenwood Caverns Holdings and Soaring Eagle were accountable for approximately 98% of the damages, with Caverns Holdings bearing the full $123 million in punitive damages.
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