GARFIELD COUNTY, Colo. — A jury in Garfield County has awarded more than $200 million to the family of a young girl who died on a ride at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in 2021.
The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in October 2021. The verdict came down on Friday, according to our news partner The Denver Post, with the jury awarding the family $205 million.
The lawsuit had named both the amusement park's parent company, Glenwood Caverns Holdings, LLC, and the ride's manufacturer, Soaring Eagle, Inc., The Denver Post reported.
Wongel Estifanos, 6, fell 110 feet and died on the Haunted Mine Drop ride at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs on Sept. 5, 2021. The ride drops people 110 feet down a mine shaft. The park was closed for several days in the wake of the incident.
A subsequent state investigation determined that the two operators of the ride, who had not been trained to identify an error related to the ride's seat belts, failed to put on and secure the girl's seat belt before launching the ride that day. She had been sitting on the seatbelt, which was still locked together from the previous ride, when the seat had been empty. The system showed an error that meant the seat belt rod was not removed from the restraint block after the previous ride cycle. The operators did not see that the young girl was only holding the tail of the seat belt across her lap.
Attorneys for her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the park in October 2021. The following January, Ninth Judicial District Attorney Jefferson J. Cheney announced that no criminal charges would be filed in the case as they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any person or entity acted with criminal negligence or recklessness.
Dan Caplis, attorney for parents Rahel Estifanos and Estifanos Dagne, called the decision a "very well-reasoned jury verdict," adding that for "four long years," the amusement park had denied fault in the young girl's death.
Caplis sent Denver7 the below statement about the outcome:
"Wongel’s parents took this case to trial to prove what really happened and to try to save others. Wongel’s parents are deeply grateful to the jury for following the evidence to a just verdict, and for recognizing the dignity and importance of their daughter Wongel. Wongel’s parents are grateful to the Court for ensuring a fair trial for both sides, and to the entire courthouse staff for the very humane and professional way they operate.
Wongel’s parents are grateful to the people of Garfield County for the kindness they were shown during this long trial. Wongel’s parents leave this trial knowing that the people of Garfield County are fair and just and are willing to do the right thing based on the evidence without fear or favor. They will always be grateful for that."
Glenwood Caverns also published a statement, saying that their hearts go out to the family and others who were impacted by the tragedy. The jury put significant fault on the co-defendant Soaring Eagle, Inc., which is the company that manufactured the Haunted Mine Drop. Soaring Eagle manufactured the ride with "a defective restraint system that caused this heartbreaking accident," Glenwood Caverns' statement reads, and certified to the amusement park that all rides had met the required standards, which was not true.
"They failed to perform the required engineering and risk analyses that would have undoubtedly prevented this death. In addition, Soaring Eagle was aware of two prior ejections from this same restraint design— information they hid from the world. Soaring Eagle failed Glenwood Caverns, failed the Estifanos family, and failed our community," the park's statement says.
The size of the jury verdict award "puts the existence of Glenwood Caverns at serious risk" with the possible loss of hundreds of local jobs, the statement reads.
"Prior to trial, Glenwood Caverns offered Plaintiffs all of its available insurance money, but Plaintiffs refused to accept or ever negotiate a resolution over the past four years despite our numerous attempts," the statement continues.
Glenwood Caverns said they were devastated by the tragedy and worked with independent engineers to redesign and re-engineer the ride.
