Adventure Park Insider—Sept. 24, 2025—A Colorado jury has awarded $205 million to the family of a six-year-old girl who died on the Haunted Mine Drop ride at Glenwood Caverns in 2021. The award is the second-largest ever for a wrongful death in Colorado, and the tenth-largest in U.S. history.
The fatal incident occurred on Labor Day, Sept. 5, 2021, at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park on the Mine Drop ride, a 110-foot free fall. According to the state’s investigation, the girl, Wongel Estifanos, was sitting on top of her seatbelt and not buckled in as the ride began. Investigators also found that the ride operators had reset the system to bypass an alarm that indicated Wongel wasn’t buckled in. During the ride she fell from her seat as the ride hurtled down its chute and was killed. The state declared that operators had made multiple errors in operating the ride, and that they had received inadequate training. The two operators had been on the job for just two weeks.
The Estifanos family filed suit in October 2021, and the trial began this month. The state fined the Caverns $68,000 for the incident, but the district attorney in 2022 chose not to file criminal charges.
In their suit, the parents claimed that Wongel’s death resulted from a pattern of recklessness and improper training at the Caverns. They alleged that operators did not fasten the restraint, overlooked warning lights, and reset the system to operate the ride. In addition, the suit claimed that the park had been warned previously about lax restraint checks on the ride.
The trial was held in Garfield County District Court in Glenwood Springs. The jury deliberated for seven hours, and found the Caverns and the ride’s manufacturer, Soaring Eagle, responsible for 98 percent of the non-economic damages ($82 million); the two operators are responsible for one percent each. The jury found the Caverns responsible for an additional $123 million in punitive damages.
The lawyer for the Estifanos family, Dan Caplis, said, “Wongel’s parents are very grateful to the jury for speaking the truth and holding this corporation responsible.” He added that this “very well-reasoned verdict” will save lives. Presumably, the nine-figure award is a warning that will prompt adventure operators across the country to pay greater attention to safety protocols.
In a statement, Glenwood Caverns said, “Our hearts go out to the family of Wongel Estifanos and everyone affected by the tragic accident that happened on September 5, 2021.”
The statement added, “Prior to trial, Glenwood Caverns offered Plaintiffs all of its available insurance money, but Plaintiffs refused to accept or ever negotiate a resolution over the past four years despite our numerous attempts.”
The Caverns noted that the size of the award could put the park out of business. “While the jury allocated significant fault on the other defendant, Soaring Eagle, Inc., the size of the total jury verdict award puts the existence of Glenwood Caverns at serious risk. If the jury verdict remains as it is, hundreds of local jobs are in peril.”
To avoid that outcome, “Glenwood Caverns is exploring all options so that we can attempt to continue to operate, serve our guests, and continue to give back to the community,” the statement said.
The park’s statement also placed blame on the ride’s manufacturer.
“Soaring Eagle manufactured the Haunted Mine Drop with a defective restraint system that caused this heartbreaking accident. Soaring Eagle certified to Glenwood Caverns that the ride met all applicable standards, but that was not true. They failed to perform the required engineering and risk analyses that would have undoubtedly prevented this death. In addition, Soaring Eagle was aware of two prior ejections from this same restraint design—information they hid from the world.”
The park said that it worked with independent engineers “to redesign and re-engineer the ride to prevent an accident like this from ever occurring again.” The ride was rethemed and reopened in 2023 as the Crystal Tower.
