Stardust Racers Accident

[v0latilebear]

Saw someone saying they’re testing stardust racers at night, is this true?

 

[GAcoaster]

Saw someone saying they’re testing stardust racers at night, is this true?

It wouldn't be surprising if they're doing more water dummy testing after the park closes.

 

[Alicia]

Saw someone saying they’re testing stardust racers at night, is this true?

The FDOA mentioned some test results they’ve seen, so I’m assuming any cycling done in the past week or so has been related to these tests.

 

[Lucky Planet]

saw this on different places, different people said it, not sure about it but it made me curious, just wondering about it.

"Thorpe Park (UK) Mack Hypercoaster with the same restraint system has updated their safety restrictions as of today. Riders now need to be ambulant"

 

[tyro]

saw this on different places, different people said it, not sure about it but it made me curious, just wondering about it.

"Thorpe Park (UK) Mack Hypercoaster with the same restraint system has updated their safety restrictions as of today. Riders now need to be ambulant"

I find this interesting, as when my mother was with us at Disney in a wheelchair a handful of years ago, and before getting allowed into the ADA enterance on splash mountain, they made sure and asked if she would be able to take stairs in case of emergency, I just assumed this was something every park asked for ADA safety, but maybe not.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Friends don’t let friends post Wallin.

 

[ZachPL]

Man who died after ride at Epic Universe was 'fully independent' and a 'theme park enthusiast,' family says

The 32-year-old was found unresponsive on the Stardust Racers roller coaster and later pronounced dead at the hospital,

www.wesh.com

Sounds like they are trying to put this on his injury where the lawyer is trying to point in a different direction.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I find this interesting, as when my mother was with us at Disney in a wheelchair a handful of years ago, and before getting allowed into the ADA enterance on splash mountain, they made sure and asked if she would be able to take stairs in case of emergency, I just assumed this was something every park asked for ADA safety, but maybe not.

Friends don’t let friends post Wallin.

I just saw the post on Twitter but I don't know them. I also saw it mentioned on the reddit page and on Facebook by different accounts, but the twitter post was the easiest to share here.

 

[Evan]

The families lawyer had a presser.

Member of another forum wrote up some key points:

• Victim was born with a spinal condition
• However he was under no medical restrictions at the time of his death
• In fact, he often rode coasters across various parks
• Eyewitness, according to Crump, said that part of the seat covering in front of the victim was loose
• There are various eyewitnesses who may come forward, again according to Crump.
• Family at one point had a non-profit which set up disabled people with jobs at theme parks across Orlando - including 300 across the Universal parks, and 100 each at Disney and Seaworld

 

[Jake S]

I know the state of local news is dire but good lord that article gave me a migraine.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

The families lawyer had a presser.

Member of another forum wrote up some key points:

• Victim was born with a spinal condition
• However he was under no medical restrictions at the time of his death
• In fact, he often rode coasters across various parks
• Eyewitness, according to Crump, said that part of the seat covering in front of the victim was loose
• There are various eyewitnesses who may come forward, again according to Crump.
• Family at one point had a non-profit which set up disabled people with jobs at theme parks across Orlando - including 300 across the Universal parks, and 100 each at Disney and Seaworld

Couple of other important points (all from the press conference led by the family's attorney) :

• He was sitting in the first row
• Attorney wants to make it clear that there was no medical emergency from pre-existing injuries and the victim was 100% independent. Was not under any medical restrictions.
• Attorney suggests blunt force trauma was induced from hitting metal on the ride (pointed to the ride vehicle itself, no specific mention of what or where it was)
• Stressed that it would be "tragic" for Universal to reopen the ride without knowing what happened and that the Department of Agriculture not allow the ride to return to operation until more information is discovered
• Family is asking for Stardust Racers to remain closed until the investigation determines what happened
• Quoted a witness saying that the victim was slouched over the restraint and a part of the front seat covering in front was detached/hanging off (not sure how this works since they quoted he was sitting in the front)
• Mentioned that Universal had the opportunity to share a video with the family/attorney, Universal did not share.

--Questions from Reporters--

• Had he ridden the ride before? Mentioned it was the first time riding Stardust Racers that day.
• Did he sit on the test seat? No answer
• What systematic changes do you expect? Laws passed, ensuring safety/compliance/etc.

The girlfriend did not speak.


In summary, the family/attorney wants to make it clear that his pre-existing medical condition is not the concern and something occurred on the ride.

 

[rhino4evr]

Some of these statements contradict each other. If both universal and the state have confirmed the ride was operating correctly ; I don’t see where this is coming from

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Some of these statements contradict each other. If both universal and the state have confirmed the ride was operating correctly ; I don’t see where this is coming from

For the sake of the family and park attendees, I hope this investigation is quick and transparent.

Right now both parties are suggesting two very different things. Universal (and the state) agree the ride operated as intended and was intact. The family's attorney is suggesting there was no medical emergency and that the individual's previous medical issues had no involvement and they had hit their head on metal.

 

[Brian G.]

From everything I gather, it seems that an unfortunate set of circumstances led to a tragic accident. Sometimes things happen without any preluding occurrences.

But I'm still on the outside of it all.

• Attorney suggests blunt force trauma was induced from hitting metal on the ride (pointed to the ride vehicle itself, no specific mention of what or where it was)

If he were sitting in the front row, the only metal would be part of the restraints, or if something were to fly off, which Universal and the state have so far indicated did not happen.

 

[bagphrases]

From everything I gather, it seems that an unfortunate set of circumstances led to a tragic accident. Sometimes things happen without any preluding occurrences.

But I'm still on the outside of it all.


If he were sitting in the front row, the only metal would be part of the restraints, or if something were to fly off, which Universal and the state have so far indicated did not happen.

There's also this little gate(?) thing in front of the front row but it's a very reasonable distance away from the rider.

 

[Rhian]

Some of these statements contradict each other. If both universal and the state have confirmed the ride was operating correctly ; I don’t see where this is coming from

Universal’s official statement:

Our internal findings to date confirm that the ride systems functioned as intended, equipment was intact at the ride's start, throughout the duration of the ride and upon the ride vehicle's return to the station, and our Team Members followed procedures. The attraction remains closed as we continue to work through a comprehensive review process in cooperation with the ride manufacturer of record. Safety is, and always will be, at the forefront of everything we do.

Keeping in mind the investigation will dig into the details and find out what really happened, there is contradictions to be found between when the incident happened to now.

Had he ridden the ride before? Mentioned it was the first time riding Stardust Racers that day.

Which someone had previously shared news stating the opposite:

WESH just reported that it was the guests 6th time riding Stardust that day…

There’s also the eye witness report from someone who was on the ride at the same time who also provided video of Stardust Racers from Celestial Park. It’s admittedly very blurry and seems like it’s a stretch to be even certain what’s shown, but the center of the frame is aimed at what appears to be 2nd or 3rd row. Again the clarity is awful to be sure of anything seen in the clip.

There's also this little gate(?) thing in front of the front row but it's a very reasonable distance away from the rider.

View attachment 28030

The parts closest to the riders is either hard rubber or plastic isn’t it? When and if more information comes out I’m having trouble figuring out where this “metal” enters the scene.

 

[Clive]

A gentle reminder that it's in the family's attorney's best interest to show that Universal was negligent, even if they weren't. This isn't me trying to say Universal is blameless - I don't have all of the information - though what's been released officially so far indicates the ride ran as intended.

The attorney can say the pre-existing condition had nothing to do with what happened, but I'm not sure if we have enough information at this point to say that with any real confidence. Someone can have an underlying medical condition, think they're okay because they've done other similar experiences before, but then a confluence of factors leads to an unexpected - and in this case, deeply tragic - outcome.

His claim that part of the seat covering was loose needs a citation - or otherwise it outright contradicts what Universal and state regulators are saying, which is that the ride operated as intended.

Witnesses, as we've already discussed, are notoriously unreliable, especially in traumatic situations. Again, I want to stress that it's possible something went wrong and someone saw it - but we shouldn't take the attorney, or the witness, at their word. That information needs to be verified, and again, it appears to contradict what Universal and the state are saying.

As for the video Universal allegedly did not share... when this proceeds to discovery, they'll have to share it, so I'm not sure what the attorney is getting at other than trying to cast Universal in a negative light.

Really a terrible situation all around.

 

[DanB89]

Some of these statements contradict each other. If both universal and the state have confirmed the ride was operating correctly ; I don’t see where this is coming from

It does seem odd that the attorney mentions that part of the seat “in front of” the victim came loose, but then also mentions that he was in the front row. This would mean there were no seats or seat panels in front of him.

 

[Mad Dog]

A good medical examiner should have been able to further quantify possible body failures and such that may have contributed
to the blunt force injuries.

 

[devinp267]

I know the investigation is still pending but Universal has had that footage for a week, hard to believe that if they were screwed they would be letting this start to get messy. They seem confident.