‘Help! Help!’ Cause of death revealed for guest who rode Stardust Racers at Epic Universe - Universals Epic Universe Scores First Kill

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Apparently Universals new Epic Universe Park just suffered an on ride death on their hottest ride. The Dueling Coaster "Stardust Racers". A 32 year old man was found seated and restrained in the ride, unresponsive, . The initial Medical Examiners Report says he died of multiple blunt force injuries.

There looks to be a bit of a mystery with this one. Sadly no footage of the event as all guest phones need to be secured in free ride lockers before getting in line.

BREAKING NEWS
‘Tragic event:’ Guest dies after riding Stardust Racers at Universal Epic Universe in Orlando

‘Help! Help!’ Cause of death revealed for guest who rode Stardust Racers at Epic Universe​

Witness recounted incident to News 6​

Anthony Talcott, Digital Journalist

Daniel Dahm, Digital Content Manager

Mike Valente, Reporter
Published: September 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Tags: Theme Parks, Orange County, Orlando, Universal Orlando, Death Investigation, Epic Universe, Universal Epic Universe, Stardust Racers

ORLANDO, Fla. – In the wake of a guest dying after riding an Epic Universe roller coaster on Wednesday, the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner has released the cause of death.

The guest — identified as 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala — was found unresponsive after riding the coaster, prompting first responders to take him to the hospital, Orange County deputies announced.

Zavala was ultimately pronounced dead at the hospital. However, Orange County fire officials said that he hadn’t fallen from the roller coaster.

Instead, Orange-Osceola Chief Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany told News 6 that Thursday’s autopsy revealed the cause of death as “multiple blunt impact injuries.”

“The manner of death is accident,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, a Universal spokesperson provided News 6 with the following statement on Thursday evening:

“We are devastated by this tragic event and extend our sincerest sympathies to the guest’s loved ones. We are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation. The attraction remains closed.”

Fellow guest Maria Fernandez, who said she was one of the dueling racers at the same time as Zavala, recounted what happened to News 6.

“When I was on the ride, the travel finishes, and one girl starts to say, ‘Help! Help! Help!’” she explained. “...The girl was screaming, and we didn’t understand what happened.”

When the ride came to a stop, security began to usher riders off the roller coaster, Fernandez added.

She said that Zavala appeared to be slumped over, bleeding, with his leg seemingly broken.

“I don’t know if he was dead in that moment, but I think yes,” she continued.

Stardust Racers has been one of the most popular attractions at Epic Universe since it opened in May.

The ride is a dual-launch racing coaster that reaches speeds up to 62 mph and reaches a height of 133 feet. It’s described as Universal’s most thrilling coaster experience with unique maneuvers along 5,000 feet of track.

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Universal Studios' Ride Guys give a sneak peek of Stardust Racers at Epic Universe. (Universal Orlando Resort)
The Universal App shows the ride is closed on Thursday.

Universal Orlando Resorts opened Epic Universe in May. The park 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.

Records by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services show that a 32-year-old man experienced notable chest pain while riding Hiccup’s Wing Gliders back in May.

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Hiccup's Wing Gliders (Universal Orlando)
In June, those same records state that two other guests suffered conditions while riding on Stardust Racers: a 63-year-old man who experienced dizziness, and a 47-year-old woman who had a “visual disturbance. Both of those guests rode the roller coaster on separate days and had pre-existing conditions.

The agency released this statement to News 6 regarding the incident:

“The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is aware of the incident and currently has an investigator on scene. Universal has been extremely cooperative and has complied with all required notifications. This is an ongoing investigation, and more information will be released as it is available.”

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Edit; Formating fixed​

Heres a full ride POV from the Yellow Side

Some coverage

Here's a better look at the ride vehicles and restraints
 
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Chub Rub said:
Photo of him from the GoFundMe, a wheelchair user with fat upper body and spindly little legs.
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So this fat fucking gimp got on a ride he had no business being on and they let him, and then something bad happened. Fuck everyone involved. Everyone was probably inconvenienced while they loaded this trashbag stuffed with shit to bursting, and then their day was ruined, even though fatty got what he earned.

That picture is emblematic of the delusions of these gimps. This fat bitch was told he could do anything, but guess what? To hit one of those question mark blocks, you gotta JUMP, bitch!

And because journoscum are what they are, of course they wouldn't report the death obviously had something to do with this spastic gimp's deformities and obesity. I knew there was something more to this story but I was just thinking obesity. They need a "You Need to Be THIS Identifiably Human to Ride This Ride" sign with a picture of a normal human being of normal height and weight, standing up on two legs.
The Skeksis Emperor said:
I suppose it's possible since he was in poor health, maybe his bones were very weak.
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Let's test the hypothesis with Fredric Brennan. If he also doesn't survive, we can rename it the Fatty Crusher and let normal people continue to ride it.
 
It’s a pretty intense ride, and with the way the seats are, most people’s feet dangle (it’s not really enclosed around your feet, there’s a platform, but the seats are like a bucket, my 5’7” self had my feet dangling with a good 5-6” clearance).

I’m betting on a stroke or unknown heart condition, and then him flopping around like one of those air powered advertising guys. It’s not hard to hold yourself on the ride, but that’s with conscious control, not ragdolling.
 
AnOminous said:
So this fat fucking gimp got on a ride he had no business being on and they let him, and then something bad happened. Fuck everyone involved. Everyone was probably inconvenienced while they loaded this trashbag stuffed with shit to bursting, and then their day was ruined, even though fatty got what he earned.
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Teenager Irene and 22 others would have been stoked if some fat ass died on the rollercoaster. I would figure out what seat he was in so I could buy the photo of his dead ass dangling there upside down while everyone else is throwing their hands out and screaming.
 
neverendingmidi said:
It’s not hard to hold yourself on the ride, but that’s with conscious control, not ragdolling.
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A ride really shouldn't depend on whether or not you can consciously hold on to it just not to die, although I suppose it adds a certain thrill.
 
Echo_Ender said:
They really aren't and a lot of roller coaster fatalities are due to this specific body-type. Because it prevents the restraints from working properly.

Ride operators are SUPPOSED to refuse to seat them, but due to a lot of factors (Including bribes, threats of discrimination complaints, or just sympathy), they get on the coaster and it seldom ends well.
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There's a similar problem with a climbing harness. They only work if the waist is slimmer than the hips, otherwise you end up like this when upside down.
upsidedown.webp
This was an incident on a via ferrata this Summer. The guy was extremely lucky to have a helicopter at the ready nearby and got rescued under 30mn.
He should have been equipped with a full harness with shoulder straps to avoid that.
 
AnOminous said:
A ride really shouldn't depend on whether or not you can consciously hold on to it just not to die, although I suppose it adds a certain thrill.
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I mean just sitting up. The lap bar pretty well wedged me in the seat to where I could kick my feet, but not budge. But it doesn’t have full webbing/over shoulder retraints/ head immobilization.

But neither does Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point- though your feet are on the floor for that one.
 
I was thinking home but was probably on blood thinners or something but COD probably would've been stroke instead of blunt trauma
 
I might sound retarded because I know this is super rare and mostly due to rider error, but I have a phobia of roller coasters and massive rides like this. I've worked retail and if nobody cares enough in those low risk environments for health and safety, I know for a fact nobody actually cares or is checking safety precautions on the giant death machine that is an amusement park ride.
 
I think that photo was just bad. In other photos he looks...let's say, he looks not fat enough to be on the high side of the average Florida theme park visitor. Possible he has some kind of chest deformity or something but the photos are not of some morbidly obese dude.

1758289264628.webp
 
Breadbassket said:
He was stupid for wanting to get on the roller coaster in his condition, the only person dumber is the one who allowed him to do so.
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Hope it was worth it dodging some nuisance lawsuit for pennies when there's probably now millions on the line. Pennywise, pound foolish.
 
AnOminous said:
Hope it was worth it dodging some nuisance lawsuit for pennies when there's probably now millions on the line. Pennywise, pound foolish.
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Actually, now that I think about it, in a liability exposure like this and the neglect being on an individual trained not to let these people on but does so anyway - Can like, the corporate subrogate damages and shit on the teen who let the crippled fat retard on?

It would be kind of funny to be like "Thanks, Timmy. Nice job during the summer shift. You owe us two million." I know it would be impossible to collect, but just curious.
 
CharlesBarkley said:
Actually, now that I think about it, in a liability exposure like this and the neglect being on an individual trained not to let these people on but does so anyway - Can like, the corporate subrogate damages and shit on the teen who let the crippled fat retard on?
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Not really because everybody knows companies have ass-covering policies but their real policy is to ignore their own regulations. You know they'd fire anyone who actually did enforce them when the real policy is give in immediately to any screaming beaner fatty in a gimp chair.

Maybe if the guy was an independent contractor who went around to different parks, but if he's an employee doing his job, the employer is presumed to know what he's doing and respondeat superior (employer liability) presumptively applies. There are a couple exceptions with silly names like "a frolic of his own," describing situations where, for instance, a delivery driver goes out on a delivery but instead decides to go to a titty bar and runs someone down on the way there.
 
There are specific boarding criteria. People in wheelchairs can ride basically all the theme park rides. They shouldn't kill you just because your legs don't work.
 
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