Man dies after Universal Stardust Racers ride, death ruled accidental

A 32-year-old man died after becoming unresponsive following a ride on the Stardust Racers roller coaster at Universal Orlando Resort’s new Epic Universe park on Sept. 17, officials said. Orange County deputies and park officials identified the victim as Kevin Rodriguez Zavala. He was taken from the park to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 10:05 p.m., according to an incident report.

The Orange County medical examiner, Joshua Stephany, ruled the death accidental and attributed it to multiple blunt impact injuries, but his office did not disclose where on the body those injuries were found. Universal Orlando Resort said in a brief statement that it was cooperating with the sheriff’s office investigation and that the attraction remained closed. In an internal memo to employees, Universal president Karen Irwin wrote that the company’s preliminary review found ride systems functioned as intended, equipment was intact before, during and after the ride, and team members followed procedures.

Family attorneys and eyewitnesses have raised a different account of what occurred. Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who represents Zavala’s family, said witnesses...