FUN TURNED FATAL

Colorado Girl Died on Drop Ride Because Ride Operators Didn’t Check Seatbelt, Investigation Finds

It is now up to the district attorney to determine if any criminal charges are warranted.

A 6-year-old Colorado girl was killed at an amusement park over Labor Day weekend because two ride operators didn’t make sure she was wearing a seat belt, according to a state investigation. Wongel Estifanos was on the “Haunted Mine Drop” at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs when, even after operators conducted a seat-belt check, she was still permitted to stay on the ride. An alarm system even went off notifying the operators of a problem, but because of their lack of training, they weren’t sure what to do and overrode the alarm system. This led to Estifanos falling more than 100 feet to her death, with her body found near the ride’s mine shaft, per the Denver Post. Officials plan to issue fines and citations related to the incident, and they have handed off the investigation to the district attorney for any criminal charges.