On Friday, July 19th, Ms. Rosa Irene Ayala-Gaona, identified by her family as Rosy Esparza, fell more than 75 feet to her death from the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Arlington. Our Texas roller coaster accident attorneys mention that the Texas Giant is 14 stories high. And Ms. Esparza fell out of the roller coaster as it began a steep descent on the ride’s first large hill.
That Ms. Esparza fell from her third-row seat on the first large descent tends to corroborate witness reports that her safety restraint bar had not been properly secured and released her on a sudden ride maneuver. If the restraint were not truly latched, then it would tend to release her at the first application of strong force.
Ms. Esparza reportedly hit a steel beam as she fell, then landed on top of a ride tunnel for the Texas Giant. A coroner has indicated that she suffered many traumatic injuries and extensive trauma damage to her torso.
News accounts say that Friday was Ms. Esparza’s first visit to Six Flags and that family members had accompanied her and were with her on the Texas Giant roller coaster at the time of the accident. Our Texas roller coaster accident attorneys can’t even begin to imagine the pain and trauma they must have suffered from this tragedy.
The report is free to you without obligation. But you may just find the safety information it contains priceless.
If a roller coaster accident has injured you or your family, don’t hesitate to contact the experienced Texas roller coaster accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC for a free, no obligation initial legal consultation to learn how our experience and skill with roller coaster accidents could help you.We’re available at 713-807-9500 and through our online contact form. Click here to read about our success for the family of a man who suffered another tragic fatal fall from a roller coaster in Texas.
Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts, who has previously tried to muster support for federal regulation of amusement park rides, is using the occasion of this tragedy to try and raise awareness of the lack of uniform U.S. ride safety standards and muster support for a new scheme of federal regulation. If, as witnesses indicated, Ms. Esparza’s tragic death was due to negligent employees failing to secure her safety restraint properly, possibly coupled with a mechanical failure in the restraint bar, federal regulations might do little or nothing to prevent further such accidents.
The German manufacturer of the Texas Giant stated that the ride has a hydraulic restraint system. These types of restraints are usually computer-controlled. Our Texas roller coaster accident attorneys note that such computer control systems are generally designed so that the roller coaster train can’t leave the station unless every restraint is properly secured. And once the ride is in motion, the restraint bars should not release.
But until the final accident investigation reports are released, we can’t rule out employee error, mechanical failure, or possibly even computer malware. Between April 2008 and April 2013, 14 injuries were reported for the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Arlington. None of those injuries were fatal, fortunately, and the worst of them seem to have been concussions and muscle strains from ride jostling motions. Our Texas roller coaster accident attorneys point out that some of the injuries involved trips and falls getting on or off the ride.
The lack of standardized amusement park ride safety and reporting requirements actually means that the parks themselves self-report injuries. So some savvy safety advocates believe that the injuries are under-reported.
The Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Arlington has been closed since Rosy Esparza’s fatal fall from it. Until the Texas Department of Insurance, which oversees ride safety under the Amusement Ride Safety Inspection and Insurance Act, issues another safety compliance sticker for the ride, it won’t re-open. And our Texas roller coaster accident attorneys emphasize that this won’t happen until the roller coaster has been inspected by a qualified engineer and pronounced safe again.