Man dies after ride on Stardust Racers at Epic Universe

Woman says she was injured on same Epic Universe ride where man was found unresponsive, later died

One of the allegations is that Universal failed to properly restrain her head while riding Stardust Racers.

If this is the case the outcome is surly every roller coaster in the country has NASCAR level protection.

eightdotthree:

the outcome is surly

Surly.

Would be interesting to know what other coasters he rode. Wouldn't be really helpful if all of them were milder than Stardust. If they were as intense/more intense than Stardust, question would be what was different with Stardust that resulted in tragedy. May well have been a series of factors in combination that resulted in the accident.

It’s Florida in September and he rode it at the end of the day. The inciting factor could be as common as dehydration leading to an orthostatic event, pass out at the wrong time get your head whacked once cause more damage leading you not to wake up, get whacked some more. We won’t really know until the final report.

I hope it’s not something like that, that would be horrible. But if it was you would think it would have happened already; it’s not like these are new restraints, nor is it that Stardust is more intense than other installations. If it is something like this those rides are going to need someway to restrain your neck.

...or they need new trains (or at least seat/restraint assemblies) that are configured in a way that avoids this problem.

I've looked at several pictures of identical trains and I fail to see how anyone's head could come into contact with anything except the headrest. I feel like the fact that he was in the front of the train is significant, as this would allow him to be hit with an object not attached to the train at all. Still trying to figure out where/why the whole "piece of metal hanging off the train" came to be.

Vater:

Still trying to figure out where/why the whole "piece of metal hanging off the train" came to be.

It came from the comments sections (which again prove this country is doomed).

if he had hit anything not originating from the train, we would know it by now. Same with a bird. He was in the front seat. He had 23+ people behind him who could have seen something strike the train, or get blood on them, etc.

none of that seems to have happened. As long as we’re ruled out the passenger next to him ae the source of the blunt force trauma, and if said trauma was to head and not leg (resulting in rapid blood loss) then the only two things are head rest/seat frame and lap restraint.

If the headrest is hard/has no give, and he ragdolled against it repeatedly, that could be it. So far, it sounds like the most plausible explanation I've heard. That doesn't mean it is right, of course.

In the press conference, Crump states that the blunt force trauma was from Kevin hitting against the metal on the ride. Did not specify what part of the ride exactly. Or distinguish between metal and metal with some type of padding on it. But to me, he is saying it was unpadded metal.

The family/counsel know more than what they have said to date. Saw somewhere that the attorneys were meeting with the park's attorneys either yesterday or today. Another news organization said Kevin's girlfriend will talk sometime next week. Some of that is presumably to get through the funeral which I understand is today. But part of it is also to keep the story in the news as long as possible in terms of discussions with the park.

In another venue, someone commented that the “big piece of metal” in the seat was actually a lap bar manual release key, which if true suggests (a) that it didn’t make an appearance until after the incident, and (b) that the train, in my opinion, does not comply with ASTM F2291-25b:6.3.8.3.

Also, having been nearly struck by an empty water bottle on Millennium Force, I find it interesting that people are so panicked about loose objects on rides causing injuries to riders. When someone drops something on the ride, the relative velocity of that object vs. the train is very small. A cell phone tossed gently across the room will land with more force than that same phone flying from Car #1 to Car #9. The real danger of such loose items is actually to people on the ground; and the real danger to people on the ride is objects coming from outside the ride (see both Dueling Dragons and Villain incidents).

Did I see a report that NBCUniversal has agreed to settle the lawsuit without going to court (or admitting fault)? That suggests that the preponderance of evidence probably supports the park’s position, and the park is prepared to destroy the victim in court.

—Dave Althoff, Jr.

The park seems to have settled the OTHER lawsuit, the young lady.

not the one involving the death.

RideMan:

(b) that the train, in my opinion, does not comply with ASTM F2291-25b:6.3.8.3

Of course I had to go look this one up, and I feel like most coaster trains do not comply with this. :)

Millennium Flyer trains need a special "key". Reverchon mice need a battery pack. Newer S&S trains (e.g., Steel Curtain) need compressed air.

I first heard about the "piece of metal hanging off the train" from a Orlando local news report in which an eyewitness was being interviewed. I recall them saying that they could not be sure they saw that because it was just a quick glance before being ushered away.

News is reporting now that this may not have been an isolated incident. I've seen in other news reports that I can not find now that the lawyer is going to suggest that the park knew there was a problem with the ride because of multiple incidents, but the park failed to fix the problem.

Universal can either settle to keep this lawyer from having ongoing press interviews reminding the public about it, or they can defend themselves. Either way, the coaster will probably be closed for a long while.

The state said the ride was functioning as intended. That’s not consistent with a big metal piece being loose. The lawyer has a motivation to sensationalize and confabulate to get his clients more money. The state has no such conflicts of interest, until they say otherwise I’m going to assume the metal account is false.

That Florida Today article doesn't really add anything new. Head injuries keep coming up, but no one has said how. Surely they don't expect to go to court (or settle) without explaining that.

Found this photo on Facebook. With the angle of the seat, the chunky lap bar, and the way human bodies work I just don't see how it's possible for someone to bend that far forward. When seated it's at or below knee height.

Has the armchair community ruled out that he was not restrained fully at the hips?

Have you been in those restraints? I don’t see how anyone couldn’t be fully restrained at the hips.