Family and friends of Kevin Rodriguez Zavala wiped away tears and hugged each other at a Kissimmee funeral home on Friday, as they remembered the fun-loving man who relished visiting theme parks.
A large monitor displayed hundreds of photos — one after another — that showed Zavala at Central Florida attractions. One showed him with a huge grin in front of Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World wearing a Star Wars cap. In another, he held up a colorful fruity drink while surrounded by family members. A short video showed Zavala about to board a ride at Disney and laughing.
His family this week described the 32-year-old Kissimmee man as a “roller coaster freak.”
Zavala died Sept. 17 after he lost consciousness while riding the new Stardust Racers roller coaster at Epic Universe.
Nearly a hundred people filled a large memorial room at the Funeraria San Juan funeral home to remember Zavala. A Catholic priest began with a brief prayer service in Spanish, saying that though Zavala used a wheelchair because of a lifelong spinal condition, he was proud and never let that hold him back.
Mourners then walked up one-by-one to the white open casket, surrounded with flowers, to honor Zavala. Some leaned in and kissed his face.
Some mourners brought Star Wars lightsabers to the service as Zavala was a fan of the movie series.
The Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Zavala’s death an accident and caused by “multiple blunt impact injuries.”
Zavala and his girlfriend had spent the day at the park. Just before 9 p.m., they boarded Stardust Racers, a twin coaster attraction within the Celestial Park section of Epic Universe.
Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Zavala’s family, and his legal team said this week that Zavala was helped getting into his seat by ride attendants.
Witnesses reported that Zavala’s head slammed repeatedly on a metal bar during the 2-minute long ride with more than a dozen twists and turns and reaching speeds of more than 60 mph, according to the attorneys. When the ride slowed to an end, Zavala was seen slumped over and paramedics were called. He was pronounced dead at Orlando Regional Medical Hospital.
Universal officials later released a memo that stated: “Our internal findings to date confirm that the ride systems functioned as intended.”
Investigations, however, still are being conducted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the state agency generally responsible for regulating theme park rides.
State investigators said they reached the same preliminary conclusion as Universal, according to an agency spokesman.
Neither the state agency nor the sheriff’s office have yet provided details on what happened to Zavala on the ride.
Stardust Racers, which opened with the rest of the new theme park in May, is a dual-launch, “dueling” coaster with side-by-side tracks that reaches a height of 133 feet, according to Universal. The most prominent feature is the patented “celestial spin,” where the tracks twist around each other in a barrel roll.
Riders are restrained only at the lap by a solid bar that lowers from overhead, without any shoulder constraints.
