‘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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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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That would be my guess. Fragile bone syndrome or something genetic that caused his bones to be all fucked up from childhood. Could his head wounds be from his arms flailing around?
 
I get that those are jokes about the woman holding something, but in reality it's incredibly unlikely that anyone on the ride held anything that hurt anyone. They actually do metal detectors before most of Universal's coasters, to make sure people aren't being fucking morons carrying on selfie sticks or phones to take selfies with during the ride (which will inevitably fly out of their hands and possibly whack someone in the face).
 
Whatisgoingon said:
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.
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It's kind of like comparing car injuries and deaths to airplane crashes. You're probably more likely to slip-and-fall at a Best Buy, have a box or shelf fall on you, or you fall off a ladder stocking things than you are to dying on a rollercoaster, but man, when it happens it's quite a story. The other 364.9999 days that nothing bad happens, these rides are processing thousands of riders without incident so the odds are definitely in your favor for a fun ride.
 
He was a twitch streamer under the name of Rodzkev, but he doesn't have any saved videos on his channel.
I will not shit on the dead guy, but I do not believe it was safe for someone shaped like this to get on that ride.

Clipboard01.webp
 
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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When they test, they test with weighted ragdoll test dummies. A simulated unconscious rider is part of the normal test regime when they initially certify the coaster for operation.
big pauper said:
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look im no expert on rollercoasters but this one seems to have had a lot of safety requirements for a roller coaster and this guy did not fit the requirements
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But the confusing thing is the restraint system seems to have worked as designed. It did secure him in the seat.

The question is assuming he passed out, either from medical issue or from the g forces of the coaster, how and what was he able to repeatedly come in contact with?

There are more rumors today that some metal piece of one of the seats was broken and dangling. I'm assuming some piece of the seat ahead of him that broke from the repeated impacts with his head and face?

Weirdly The industry got rid of the over the shoulder restraint bars on new rides because they were more likely to cause face head and neck injury.
 
RodgerDodger said:
But the confusing thing is the restraint system seems to have worked as designed. It did secure him in the seat.

The question is assuming he passed out, either from medical issue or from the g forces of the coaster, how and what was he able to repeatedly come in contact with?

There are more rumors today that some metal piece of one of the seats was broken and dangling. I'm assuming some piece of the seat ahead of him that broke from the repeated impacts with his head and face?

Weirdly The industry got rid of the over the shoulder restraint bars on new rides because they were more likely to cause face head and neck injury.
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I probably got a concussion from riding The Demon at six flags great america when i was in middle school because the corkscrews are an insane amount of lateral g's and if you don't force your head back against the seat your head pinballs between the semi-soft foam shoulder restraints.

stardust racer.webp

but this is one of those lap bar coasters, it shouldn't even be putting any lateral g's on the riders. i didn't bother looking at how the trains looked because i just read the brochure and assumed it was something with some complexity to it like a flying coaster but it's basically a giant wood coaster made of steel. although these seats look like they requires you to have the ability to hold yourself upright in a seated position and that isn't a given for most wheelchair users
 
Diana Moon Glampers said:
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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It's not the legs not working. It's the body shape. The midsection being like that interferes with a lot of restraints, especially lap bands.

For a lot of rides, it's fine. But there have been multiple, nasty incidents of it causing restraint failure and someone falling or hanging from a ride.
 
They are reporting now that he had a preexisting spinal cord injury. Their policy also clearly states “Attraction is not allowed for Guests with back, neck, or similar physical conditions”. I have no idea what the blunt injuries are all about but sounds like he shouldn’t have even been on that ride to begin with
 
igotfoodinmypouch said:
I have no idea what the blunt injuries are all about but sounds like he shouldn’t have even been on that ride to begin with
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The instant you saw the picture of this retard you knew there's no way this "accident" wasn't directly related to what a deformed fat crippled megasped he was.
 
igotfoodinmypouch said:
They are reporting now that he had a preexisting spinal cord injury. Their policy also clearly states “Attraction is not allowed for Guests with back, neck, or similar physical conditions”. I have no idea what the blunt injuries are all about but sounds like he shouldn’t have even been on that ride to begin with
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Usually disabled people are allowed to ride, but the rule is you need to be able sit upright on your own and brace yourself. My guess is that something aggravated his spinal injury and he was no longer able to do that. Probably lost most muscle tone and got whipped around like a ragdoll. Poor guy, but they put those warnings in front of every ride for a reason.
 
People passout on coasters all the time. These rides are designed to keep you secure if you passout and ragdoll the whole duration. A normal body is snug fit in these seats. So I don't think it was the passout ragdoll theory.

I think it was the combination of twig skinny thighs and legs with a fat top half. The Lapbar didn't secure the him correctly and the seat checker didn't catch it.

He was loose enough to flail, but not enough to go flying off the ride.
 
Given his body shape and the fact that they say "spinal condition," I'm going to guess he had SMA. It can cause a bell-shaped chest and significant torso deformities. It could also make someone's body very lopsided, in a way that might contribute to some fluke event.
 
giga sapling said:
He was loose enough to flail, but not enough to go flying off the ride.
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A retard shaped like this should have never sought to be on this rollercoaster, and he obviously ignored the numerous safety warnings not to taunt Happy Fun Rollercoaster, and yet somehow someone allowed him to get on it.
 
AnOminous said:
A retard shaped like this should have never sought to be on this rollercoaster, and he obviously ignored the numerous safety warnings not to taunt Happy Fun Rollercoaster, and yet somehow someone allowed him to get on it.
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Possibly, they realized they were gonna get sued either way.... let him on and he dies because he was in no shape to ride? Lawsuit. Deny him? ADA/discrimination against a poor helpless handicapped person who just wanted to ride like everyone else! Lawsuit. And decided to take the Ivan Drago solution.

If he dies? He dies.
 
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