GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) — The family of the 6-year-old who was killed on the Haunted Mine Drop ride at Glenwood Caverns is enraged at the district attorney’s latest decision.
Dan Caplis, attorney for the family of Wongel Estifanos, said they were not expecting this decision.
“The parents don’t understand the decision at all. To them, it makes no sense at all. They have the State of Colorado report that documents recklessness. How does that not lead to criminal charges?” Caplis said.
A report released in September found Wongel was not wearing a seatbelt on the ride and operators did not notice. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment also discovered an alarm system alerted operators to a problem with the ride but they reset the system, allowing the ride to take off.
“It’s not that the parents wanted anybody to go to jail or anything. It’s about public safety. They feel this sends a very dangerous message,” Caplis said.
The family released this statement on Wednesday:
Once again our daughter’s life has been treated as cheap and meaningless. First by the amusement park and now by the DA.
We never wanted the people who killed our daughter to go to jail. But for the DA to let them off with nothing says our daughter’s life was worth nothing. Justice should be equal. Our little girl should matter as much as a big corporation.
What a terrible message to send. That in Glenwood Springs someone can recklessly kill a child and not even get a ticket.
The DA tells us there wasn’t even a drug test done of the operators after they killed our daughter. Why not?
The DA tells us he knows the killing of Wongel was a “gross deviation from the standard of care,” but that he can’t prove which of the operators did it. That doesn’t make sense to us.
We want the full truth. We want justice for our daughter. We want to protect others. The criminal system failed our daughter. We will now go to civil court and prove it on our own.
The Estifanos family
The district attorney for Garfield, Pitkin and Rio Blanco Counties issued a formal decision Tuesday evening, stating the office could not find one person or entity responsible at Glenwood Caverns for the child’s death.
This comes after the Estifanos family filed a lawsuit against the amusement park claiming “reckless acts” were made that led to her death.
In response to the family’s statement, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park released a statement:
“We continue to offer our condolences to the Estifanos family,” said Steve Beckley, Founder of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. “I am so sorry for their loss and while I understand that my words cannot touch their grief, my heart continues to ache for them.
“As I have said before, safety is and always has been our top priority. We have always put people – our guests and our team members – above all else. More than 10 million safe rides have taken place at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park since we opened our first ride just over 15 years ago. One accident is one too many, and we are taking steps to be sure that nothing like that can ever happen again.
“In regard to the Sheriff’s Department’s report and District Attorney’s findings, we appreciate their hard work as well as the work of the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety Amusement Rides and Devices Division.”
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
