Family ‘shocked’ no charges to be filed in 6-year-old’s Colorado amusement park death

No criminal charges will be filed in the death of a 6-year-old girl who fell more than 100 feet after her seat belt was left unfastened on a Colorado amusement park ride, prosecutors say.

Wongel Estifanos died on the Haunted Mine Drop ride during a visit to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park with her family over Labor Day weekend, McClatchy News reported.

A state investigation found ride operators failed to check her seat belt before starting the ride. She was sitting on the belt. An alarm system warned workers something was wrong, but they didn’t know what to do and started the ride anyway, the report said.

In a letter dated Jan. 25 that was provided to McClatchy News, District Attorney Jefferson Cheney of the Ninth Judicial District said he lacked evidence to show which of the two workers on duty should have checked her seat belt.

He said he could not prove “beyond a reasonable doubt any one person or entity acted with criminal negligence or was criminally reckless beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The letter says the office concluded there was not a “reasonable likelihood of success at trial” and therefore would file no criminal charges in the case.

“Once again our daughter’s life has been treated as cheap and meaningless. First by the amusement park and now by the DA,” Wongel’s parents said in a statement provided Wednesday, Feb. 2, by their attorney, Dan Caplis. He had earlier said they were “shocked and outraged” by the decision.

“We never wanted the people who killed our daughter to go to jail,” the statement continues. “But for the DA to let them off with nothing says our daughter’s life was worth nothing.”

The family has filed a lawsuit against the Glenwood Springs amusement park.

This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Family ‘shocked’ no charges to be filed in 6-year-old’s Colorado amusement park death."