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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Man dies from blunt impact injuries after riding coaster at new Florida | |
amusement park Epic Universe | |
By Associated Press | |
Updated: | |
5:58 PM EDT, Thu September 18, 2025 | |
Source: AP | |
A man who was unresponsive after riding a roller coaster at Universal | |
Orlando Resort’s died from blunt impact injuries, a medical examiner | |
said Thursday. | |
Joshua Stephany, the medical examiner for the Orlando area, ruled the | |
death an accident after performing an autopsy. The statement from | |
Stephany did not mention any details about the injuries, including | |
where on the body they were found. | |
The man in his 30s was found unresponsive after riding the coaster at | |
on Wednesday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando said. He | |
was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. | |
Dennis Speigel, CEO and founder of consulting firm International Theme | |
Park Services, called the autopsy’s conclusion “pretty shocking,” | |
and he said it raised more questions than it answered. | |
“Was it the head or the chest? Was he banging around? Was he in his | |
seat properly?” Speigel said. “Was it an accident caused by the | |
ride or him doing something?” | |
The medical examiner’s office didn’t respond to an email seeking | |
further details on the injuries. | |
The roller coaster involved was Stardust Racers, Universal officials | |
said in a statement. It’s described on the resort’s website as “a | |
breathtaking, dual-launch coaster reaching incredible speeds up to 62 | |
mph (100 kph).” | |
“We are devastated by this tragic event and extend our sincerest | |
sympathies to the guest’s loved ones,” a Universal Orlando Resorts | |
spokesperson said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with | |
Orange County and the ongoing investigation. The attraction remains | |
closed.” | |
After the autopsy was released, Universal said it couldn’t comment | |
beyond its earlier statement because of the ongoing investigation. | |
Universal opened the park in May. It has five themed sections and a | |
500-room hotel. | |
It’s the first major, traditional theme park to open in Florida since | |
1999, when Universal Islands of Adventure debuted, though Universal | |
opened a themed Orlando water park, Volcano Bay, in 2017. | |
The addition of Epic Universe brought the total number of parks at the | |
Florida resort to four, including Universal Studios. | |
Florida’s largest theme parks are exempt from state safety | |
inspections, unlike smaller venues and fairs. Instead, the largest | |
theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal conduct their own | |
inspections and have their own protocols, but they must report to the | |
state any injury or death. | |
In the second quarter of this year, there were a dozen reports from | |
Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld Orlando. They ranged from a | |
78-year-old woman becoming unresponsive on a child-friendly carousel at | |
SeaWorld to an 87-year-old woman with a preexisting condition losing | |
consciousness after going on the Dinosaur ride at Disney’s Animal | |
Kingdom. | |
Since Epic Universe opened in May, there have been three reports made. | |
In May, a 63-year-old man with a preexisting condition experienced | |
dizziness and “an altered state of consciousness” and a 47-year-old | |
woman with a preexisting condition had a “visual disturbance” and | |
numbness after going on the Stardust Racers coaster, on separate days. | |
A 32-year-old man experienced chest pains after going on the Hiccup’s | |
Wing Gliders ride, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture & | |
Consumer Services. | |
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