What an awful week for the roller coaster community.

A 32-year-old coaster fan from Florida lost his life after riding what many in the community have hailed the best new coaster of the year. Kevin Rodriguez Zavala died last week after riding Stardust Racers, the Mack Rides racing launch coaster at Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe theme park.

The Orange County [Florida] Medical Examiner attributed the cause of death to “multiple blunt impact injuries.” Zavala was unresponsive when the coaster train he was riding on returned to the station. Stardust Racers has been closed since the incident, which remains under investigation .

Zavala was a wheelchair user with a pre-existing spinal condition, though there is no evidence yet that his condition had anything to do with the incident

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