A man in his 30s died after becoming unresponsive while riding Stardust Racers at Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida, on September 17, 2025. Credit: FOX 35 Orlando
The death of 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala was ruled an accident and the investigation is closed, according to an incident report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Zavala was riding a high-speed roller coaster at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe theme park when he was found unconscious. The sheriff’s office said security footage showed Zavala was “engaged and well” at the start of the ride, but unresponsive when the coaster returned to the loading/unloading dock.
Stardust Racers, part of Universal Orlando’s newest theme park, Epic Universe, is a dual-launch roller coaster that reaches speeds of 60 miles per hour. Universal Orlando says the roller coaster will reach a height of up to 130 feet.
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Guests ride Stardust Racers, a new twin coaster during a preview day for Universal Epic Universe on April 5, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)
Zavala’s family released a statement Saturday through their attorney, civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
“The family of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala and Universal have reached an out-of-court settlement in this matter. The terms are confidential. The family is grateful for the community’s support and requests privacy at this time.”
An employee who spoke with the sheriff’s office said Zavala had “severe facial trauma.” In addition, a witness quoted in the incident report told the sheriff’s office that Zavala “was slumped over with blood pouring from his head. His left leg was at a 90-degree angle between the hip brace.”
Anna Marshall, a doctor, was waiting to board Stardust Racers when she heard someone shout, “Get me out!” According to the report, she assumed it was someone who was having difficulty breathing as a result of the ride.
The incident report states that Marshall informed staff that she was a doctor and could help with the situation. Marshall told authorities she saw Zavala “completely slumped over with blood all around him.” She told investigators that at the time she noticed that Zavala’s femur was completely broken in half and resting on the back of the driving seat.
Javiliz Cruz-Robles, Zavala’s girlfriend, was also driving and told investigators that employees pressed Zavala’s lap bar several times before the ride began. However, she still thought it was too low.
Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, 32, died after becoming unresponsive on the Stardust Racers roller coaster at Universal Epic Universe on September 17, 2025. (GoFundMe)
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Cruz-Robles spoke with Marshall as the doctor tried to help Zavala. Marshall recalled Cruz-Robles repeating “his mother is going to kill me,” referring to a conversation about Zavala going on rides.
Zavala was wheelchair-bound and had several medical problems, according to his parents, Carlos Rodriguez Ortiz and Anne Zavala. Because of these issues, they were concerned about their son taking certain rides.
Kevin was born with spinal cord atrophy and had undergone surgeries throughout his life. They also said Kevin previously broke his femur in 2020, which also required surgery. Kevin also suffered a hip dislocation that required surgery in 2010. Carlos told investigators that Kevin’s mother always told him not to ride roller coasters, but he never listened.
Attorney Benjamin Crump shows a photo of the Stardust Racers Epic Universe roller coaster during a press conference with Kevin Zavala’s family in downtown Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Lawyers say roller coaster had pattern of safety failures before rider’s death: ‘NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT’
The family had claimed that Zavala’s death was not an isolated incident, but rather part of a clump.
Crump said at an October press conference that the safety systems on Stardust Racers were “inadequate” and noted that the ride history presents an “alarming timeline.”
Universal’s data, that was obtained by WOFLit turned out that the theme park recorded two injuries since its opening. The first occurred on June 22, when a 63-year-old man reported dizziness and an altered state of consciousness, which the theme park attributed to a pre-existing condition. The second incident occurred two days later when a 47-year-old woman reported visual disturbance and numbness. The theme park also attributed this to a pre-existing condition.
In September, the District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office determined after Zavala’s autopsy that his cause of death was “multiple blunt impact injuries and the manner of death an accident,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office noted in its incident report.
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The sheriff’s office determined that Epic Universe employees “followed their Standards Operating Procedures and did not act in a careless or negligent manner.”
“Based on the totality of the circumstances, taking into account known, available evidence, including affidavits, video surveillance, the findings of the District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office, and Epic Universe standard operating procedures, this case was determined to be an accidental death and was closed accordingly,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the report.
Fox Business reached out to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Universal Orlando for comment.
