The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage from the night a Florida man died after riding a roller coaster at Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe theme park.
In September 2025, Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, a Florida resident and theme park and roller coaster fanatic, died after suffering multiple blunt impact injuries while riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster.
Stardust Racers is a dual-launch racing coaster located in the Celestial Park section of Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. It reaches speeds of 62 mph, rises to 133 feet in the air, and runs along 5,000 feet of track.
Following his death, the family of Zavala had retained famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump to investigate the death and see what the theme park is doing to prevent this from happening again.
As of December 2025, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office determined that no criminal acts occurred in Zavala’s death. Sheriff’s investigators said the case was ruled an accident and is closed, releasing a final incident report on Dec. 11.
What does the body cam footage reveal about Kevin Rodriguez Zavala’s death?
Zavala was visiting the park and rode the Stardust Racers late in the evening of Sept. 17, 2025. He was found unresponsive on the roller coaster when it returned to the station, with his girlfriend, Javiliz Cruz-Robles, screaming for help.
The body camera footage, obtained by the USA TODAY Network-Florida on March 27, begins with deputies en route to Epic Universe and arriving at the roller coaster’s queue. When deputies arrive on the scene, paramedics are already performing CPR on Zavala.
At one point, some deputies are trying to get up to speed on what happened, with one deputy saying, “He was on the ride. From what the medical services told me, it sounds like a massive cardiac event.”
Throughout the videos, deputies are trying to gather witness statements and figure out exactly what happened. The footage also shows deputies talking to Zavala’s girlfriend, who told them he had issues with the lap bar and did not have any support on his legs.
“I tried, I saw him on the first drop, I saw him hit his head, I tried to hold him, I couldn’t hold him,” she explained.
One deputy drives Zavala’s girlfriend to the Orlando Regional Medical Center, where has transported and later pronounced dead at 10:05 p.m. the same night.
Some of the later footage shows Stardust Racers employees gathered in a room after the incident. The video has no audio, so it is unknown what they were saying.
OCSO also released interviews with Zavala’s girlfriend and family members, as well as with a doctor who had been on the ride and jumped in to help. She told deputies that it looked like Zavala had a head injury and a fractured femur.
Who was Kevin Rodriguez Zavala?
Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, 32, of Kissimmee, Florida, died shortly after riding Epic Universe’s new Stardust Racers roller coaster on Sept. 17, 2025.
He was a wheelchair user, born with spinal cord atrophy, but his family noted he led an active, independent life.
What was the cause of death on the Universal ride?
According to the report, Rodriguez Zavala’s death was accidental and caused by “multiple blunt impact injuries.” He also had a preexisting spinal injury and was taking Baclofen medication, according to the report.
Is Stardust Racers open?
The coaster reopened to the public early March 26 after its annual inspection and maintenance.
According to AllEars, its reopening date was extended for the third time since its closure in early February. It was originally scheduled to end Feb. 22, then extended to Feb. 28, then into March, and then set for April 5. However, it reopened earlier than expected.
Where is Epic Universe located in Florida?
Plug this into your GPS: Epic Universe, 1001 Epic Blvd., Orlando, Florida.
Universal Orlando’s newest theme park opened its doors earlier this year, in May 2025, the first for Orlando in more than 25 years.
Samantha Neely is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, theme parks, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Epic Universe coaster death body cam released. What it shows
Reporting by Samantha Neely, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
