ORLANDO, Fla. – Hours after Kevin Rodriguez Zavala was found unresponsive on a roller coaster at Epic Universe and pronounced dead from multiple blunt impact injuries, the state agency that regulates some amusement rides in Florida announced it had sent an “investigator” to the Universal Orlando theme park.
But there is no indication the State of Florida is conducting any sort of independent investigation of the Sept. 17 incident on the Stardust Racers roller coaster, News 6 has learned.
Instead, Universal Orlando voluntarily invited representatives of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or FDACS, to “observe” testing and inspections of the ride after Zavala’s death, an agency spokesperson told News 6.
FDACS is responsible for issuing amusement ride permits, investigating accidents and impounding potentially unsafe rides at small amusement parks and traveling fairs.
But rides operated by Florida’s large theme park companies, including Universal Orlando, Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Legoland Florida, are exempt from state oversight.
Under a 1992 Florida law, permanent amusement facilities that employ more than 1,000 people and maintain full-time, in-house safety inspectors are not subject to FDACS inspections or investigations.
Instead, those large theme park operators must file affidavits with FDACS documenting annual ride inspections.
Also, as part of a separate “memorandum of understanding” between FDACS and the large theme park operators, all ride-related fatalities and certain injuries must be reported to the state.
Those injury reports are published quarterly on the FDACS website.
“We will be calling upon greater government oversight of large companies like Universal, instead of just letting them self-report,” said Paul Grinke, an attorney who represents Zavala’s family.
[WATCH: Attorney questions Universal’s safety measures after complaints of Stardust Racers coaster]
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, whose agency regulates amusement rides, has previously expressed concern that state law treats large theme parks differently from carnivals or small roadside attractions.
“Where a person is injured should not determine how the state responds,” Simpson said in 2023. “Everyone should play by the same rules.”
On the day after Zavala’s death, Simpson’s spokesperson suggested the state agency was involved in the probe at Epic Universe.
“The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is aware of the incident and currently has an investigator on scene,” FDACS spokesperson Aaron Keller told News 6 on Sept. 18. “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.”
Since rides at Universal Orlando, like the Stardust Racers roller coaster, are exempt from state oversight, News 6 asked FDACS to explain the investigator’s role at Universal Orlando and whether the agency was conducting an independent investigation.
“Universal contacted FDACS as is required by Florida law,” Keller told News 6 in an email. “Universal voluntarily invited FDACS to observe all testing and inspections. Their actions exceeded state requirements.”
Keller did not respond to follow-up questions from News 6 asking what “state requirements” Universal Orlando had fulfilled other than reporting Zavala’s death to the agency.
Likewise, the agency did not provide further explanation about its statement to News 6 that “all major amusement parks voluntarily abide by the standards today.”
Representatives from Universal Orlando have not responded to questions about Zavala’s death.
When FDACS investigates amusement ride incidents at smaller facilities, the agency often produces reports that become public record.
In 2018, six passengers were injured when the Sand Blaster roller coaster in Daytona Beach derailed. Two of those injured riders were ejected from the front car of the coaster and fell 34 feet to the ground, authorities said.
FDACS ride inspectors were immediately dispatched to Daytona Beach to begin investigating the roller coaster mishap.
[WATCH: Excessive speed caused roller coaster derailment (from 2019)]
An engineering firm contracted by the state later produced a 34-page report, which included accident scene photos and diagrams, that concluded the coaster derailment was caused by excessive speed. Click HERE to read that report.
Four years later, FDACS ride inspectors issued a “stop operation” order on the Orlando FreeFall after 14-year-old Tyre Sampson was thrown from the drop tower ride and plunged at least 100 feet to his death.
Engineers hired by FDACS later determined someone had improperly modified a sensor on one of the ride’s safety harnesses that allowed Sampson to slip through a 6-to-10-inch gap in the restraint.
[WATCH: Adjustments to sensors on Orlando FreeFall made ride unsafe (from 2022)]
“The cause of the subject accident was that Tyre Sampson was not properly secured in the seat primarily due to mis-adjustment of the harness proximity sensor,” an engineering report released to the public stated. “The mis-adjustment of the sensor allowed both safety lights to illuminate, improperly satisfying the ride’s electronic safety mechanisms and allowing the ride to commence even though the ride was unsafe.”
You can read the Orlando FreeFall engineering report by clicking HERE.
Florida lawmakers passed the Tyre Sampson Act in 2023, which introduced additional safety requirements for amusement rides. But large theme parks, including Universal, remained exempt from those new rules.
That same year, while Gov. Ron DeSantis was waging a political battle with Disney over the company’s opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, state leaders pondered whether to revisit laws exempting major theme park operators from government oversight.
“The (Walt Disney World) monorail is exempt. They exempted the monorail from any safety standards or inspections,” DeSantis said at an April 2023 news conference at the headquarters for Disney’s special taxing district.
During that same event, Simpson suggested all amusement ride operators should follow the same rules.
“I stand here today in support of this legislation that will allow my department to conduct inspections when someone is seriously injured on an amusement ride,” Simpson said. “Thankfully, it doesn’t happen that often in Florida. But when it does, we have a duty to inspect and decide whether a ride can safely reopen. We do that across the board for amusement rides everywhere except large theme parks.”
Earlier that week, State Rep. Lawrence McClure filed legislation that would have given FDACS the authority to inspect rides at large theme parks following an accident or complaint.
But McClure’s amended bill was withdrawn the following day without explanation before it could be considered by other state lawmakers, legislative records show.
McClure did not respond to emails and a phone call from News 6 this week inquiring why the legislation was withdrawn.
Major theme park operators like Universal and Disney have previously said their rides undergo rigorous testing and safety inspections.
“Annual audits of attractions are conducted by engineers, in cooperation with maintenance, operations, and training management teams,” a Disney website states. “These audits focus on key elements of safe operations, including pre-opening procedures, daily checklists, operational performance, and training. In addition, throughout the year, we conduct ongoing preventative maintenance on park attractions.”
[WATCH: what we know about Stardust Racers at Epic Universe and how its restraints work]
In a letter to Universal Orlando employees, the resort’s president indicated the company was investigating the Stardust Racers roller coaster following Zavala’s death.
“Our internal findings to date confirm that the ride systems functioned as intended, equipment was intact at the ride’s start, throughout the duration of the ride and upon the ride vehicle’s return to the station, and our Team Members followed procedures,” Universal Orlando Resort President and Chief Operating Officer Karen Irwin wrote.
Although Universal’s rides are exempt from state oversight, an FDACS spokesperson addressed the company’s internal investigation.
“The department’s current findings align with those shared by Universal after monitoring the same tests and reviewing the same information,” Keller said on Sept. 22. “The investigation is ongoing, and additional information will be released as it becomes available.”
Zavala’s family has retained high-profile Florida attorney Benjamin Crump to conduct its own independent investigation.
“All we want is answers regarding my son’s death,” Zavala’s mother, Ana Zavala, said through an interpreter at a news conference Tuesday. “We want these answers so we can be able to honor him. We want these answers so we can have some peace. It is extremely difficult losing a son and we do not wish this pain on anyone.”