The suit alleged that 'Wongel's death was caused by reckless acts' and cited that 'Colorado investigators (have) determined that Wongel was killed because of multiple failures by Glenwood Caverns'.
An accident investigation report filed by the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety on September 5, 2021, revealed that Wongel was sitting on top of her seatbelt when the ride started 'at approximately 7.15pm'.
'Wongel’s uncle specifically observed the ride operators interacting with Wongel, and he trusted that they were properly securing Wongel on the ride.
'Operators did not notice she was sitting on top of both seatbelts. The control system of the ride prevented the operators from dispatching the ride and alerted them to a seatbelt safety issue on Ms Estifanos’ seat,' the report read.
'Operators took several incorrect actions and reset the ride seatbelt monitors which allowed them to dispatch the ride,' it added, to which the suit concluded: 'It was plainly foreseeable that the failure to properly restrain a rider would cause that rider to fall 110 feet to her death.'
This was not the first time ride operators at park didn't properly secure a child.
In 2018, a six-year-old boy nearly suffered the same fate before his terrified mother was able to alert the Haunted Drop's operators to avert a tragedy.
The mom sent an email to the park and reported that when she took her young child on the ride, the operators 'left the room to deploy the ride without securing' her son's seatbelt.
'All the riders started screaming: "Wait! Wait!" at the operators but (they) left the room anyway,' the suit described.
The suit described the Haunted Mine Drop (pictured) as a 'drop tower-style ride that uses gravity to create free fall'. It 'carries six passengers and drops 110 feet into a shaft in the ground'
The suit detailed the events of the fatal accident. 'When the ride came to a stop at the bottom of the mine shaft, Wongel’s uncle checked to see whether Wongel had enjoyed the ride. He was stricken with terror to see that Wongel was not in her seat,' it read
The unidentified mother wrote in her email: 'I sat there knowing that the floor was about to roll away with him not buckled in. I understood the ride went faster than free fall so was immediately thinking about how to try to protect my small child from what was about to be a large flailing body that was about to come crashing down onto our heads.'
The operators of the ride then finally came back into the room, 'apologized and put the seatbelts on the unrestrained rider'.
Even more worrisome is that the Human Resources Manager of Glenwood Caverns reportedly emailed the mother back the same day and 'falsely assured (her) that the ride had a safety feature which ensured that the ride could not begin until all of the riders were restrained by seatbelts'.
'Again I appreciate you bringing this to our attention and we will take any necessary steps to improve the safety of our operation,' the Human Resources Manager
