Family of girl killed on Haunted Mine Drop ride sues Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

The parents of the 6 year old killed at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park earlier this year filed a wrongful death civil action lawsuit Wednesday.

Through the Dan Caplis Law Firm, lawyers for Estifanos Dagne and Rahel Estifanos filed a complaint to the Denver County District Court seeking “economic and non-economic” damages after Wongel Estifanos fell the full length of the Haunted Mine Drop ride to her death on Sept. 5. A report issued on Sept. 24 found operator error and insufficient guidance as leading causes in the incident.

“Today the parents of Wongel Estifanos took the first step in their battle for the full truth and full accountability from the amusement park that killed their beloved 6-year-old daughter Wongel,” A statement produced by the law firm reads.

The 93-point complaint concludes that the park’s “reckless acts” resulted in the death of the Estifanos.

The complaint also states that she met the height requirement for the ride.

The Sept. 24 report filed by the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety, which oversees amusement park rides, issued four contributing factors that led to operator error in the incident. They were a lack of procedures, inadequate training, the restraint system involved and more than one operator taking responsibility for the ride during one cycle.

The report cited two violations of the Amusement Ride and Devices Regulations.

The firm is requesting that other witnesses, including those who had filed previous complaints, reach out.

The complaint will be heard by Denver County as Glenwood Caverns Holdings, LLC — the park’s parent company — is a resident of Delaware. Because the company is not a resident of Colorado, the venue can be designated by the complaint.

Representatives for Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park did not immediately return requests for comments for this story.