A Colorado jury has awarded $205 million to the family of Wongel Estifanos, a 6-year-old girl who died after falling from a ride at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in 2021, reports the AP. The verdict comes four years after Wongel's relatives filed a wrongful death lawsuit over the incident, per People.
Wongel was visiting the park in Glenwood Springs with her family when she fell from the Haunted Mine Drop ride. According to investigators, she was sitting on top of two seatbelts instead of being properly secured. The ride's alarm system detected an issue and stopped the ride, but workers hired just months before the tragedy reset the system and sent the ride on its way anyway. Wongel was thrown from her seat and died from multiple injuries after a 110-foot drop.
State investigators cited operator error and violations of safety regulations as contributing factors. The jury found Glenwood Caverns Holdings, the park's parent company, and ride designer Soaring Eagle liable, awarding $82 million in noneconomic damages and $123 million in punitive damages to the family. The park expressed sympathy for Wongel's family, but it argued that Soaring Eagle's defective restraint system was to blame. Park spokesperson Kimberly Marcum also warned that the verdict could threaten the park's future.
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"The size of the total jury verdict award puts the existence of Glenwood Caverns at serious risk," Marcum said in a statement to the Denver Post. "If the jury verdict remains as it is, hundreds of local jobs are in peril." Glenwood Caverns says it has since redesigned the ride with independent engineers to prevent similar accidents. An attorney for Wongel's family stressed the importance of punitive damages as a deterrent and said the girl's parents are thankful the jury held the companies accountable. Questions remain about Soaring Eagle's ability to pay, as the company is now defunct.
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