State Inspectors Confirm Findings Regarding Epic Universe Rollercoaster Death As The Man's Family Speaks Out

Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe has only been open for a few months, but already the park has seen both the highest of successes, as the park has been generally reviewed to be incredible, and the lowest lows, following the death of a man who rode the park’s Stardust Racers roller coaster. There are a lot of unanswered questions about just what happened to Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, and both the State of Florida and the man’s family are trying to find them.

What Florida Inspectors Say About Stardust Racers

Earlier this week, a letter sent to Universal Orlando Resort Team Members from President Karen Irwin stated that an internal review of Stardust Racers, generally viewed as one of the best rides at Epic Universe, found that both the attraction itself and the Team Members working it were operating as intended.

Speaking with ABC, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said that the findings of their review “align with those shared by Universal after monitoring the same tests and reviewing the same information."

While the investigation remains ongoing, and it’s still possible something could be found, this would seem to remove mechanical failure or human error from the list of possible causes for the death. A coroner ruled the death of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala an accident stemming from multiple blunt impacts.

What Kevin Rodriguez Zavala’s family Had To Say

While we may have more information about what didn’t cause this tragic accident, the family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala is insisting on finding out what did. The family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who previously represented the family of Tyre Sampson, the boy who died after falling from the Orlando FreeFall attraction at ICON Park in 2022.

In a press conference this week, it was stated by the man's father, Carlos Rodriguez Ortiz, that, while Zavala, who was a big fan of theme parks, was born with a spinal cord atrophy that required the use of a wheelchair, he was under no medical restrictions that would have kept him from riding Stardust Racers. His father said:

Stardust Racers has remained closed since the incident, and there’s no sign of when it might reopen. While the initial finding may have found that the coaster is fine, there will likely be more reviews of it to be sure that something wasn’t missed.

Even if the roller coaster itself isn’t found to be at any fault, it’s still possible that Stardust Racers could undergo some sort of an update or significant change in the aftermath. We’ve seen that before when theme park rides lead to injury. If that happens, it could be many more months before anybody will be able to ride Stardust Racers again.