Stardust Racers reopens following death of guest

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Stardust Racers attraction at Epic Universe reopened Saturday evening to park guests.

This comes after a two-week closure following the death of 32-year-old Kissimmee resident Kevin Zavala. On Sept. 17, Zavala was found unresponsive after riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster at Universal’s Epic Universe. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The cause of his death was later found to be “multiple blunt impact injuries” and was ruled to be an accident. According to officials, Zavala had a pre-existing spinal condition, but was described as independent and a lover of rides and roller coasters by his family.

In the letter to employees after the incident happened, Irwin said that internal findings showed the roller coaster “functioned as intended” and that “equipment was intact” throughout Zavala’s ride.

Attorney Ben Crump has been in charge of Zavala’s case, and called for Universal to have more government insight when it came to investigating the ride. 

Crump said that his office had received multiple complaints about the safety restraints on Stardust Racers. 

“These firsthand accounts confirm that Kevin’s tragedy was not an isolated incident,” he said.

On Sept. 22, officials with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said that their investigation resulted in the same conclusion as Universal Orlando. They and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office had investigators on scene on Sept. 19. The agency said that, “Universal has been extremely cooperative and has complied with all required notifications.”

In a letter sent out to Universal employees on Friday, Irwin said that safety is their top priority and that after further investigations, the ride had been deemed safe. The letter also entailed some changes being made in the policy.

“We are updating operational procedures and attraction signage to reinforce existing ride warnings and physical eligibility requirements at Stardust Racers and other rides,” Irwin said in the letter.