The parents of a 6-year-old Colorado Springs girl on Wednesday sued the Glenwood Caverns amusement park where she was killed over Labor Day weekend claiming it was a preventable death caused by ride workers’ recklessness.

Estifanos Dagne and his wife, Rahel Estifanos, said they and others in their family were horrified as Wongel Estifanos plummeted more than 100 feet in the park’s Haunted Mine Drop ride to her death.

Then, as family members struggled in their seats to reach the stricken girl’s battered body at the bottom of the tunnel-like shaft, the ride automatically whisked them away, according to the lawsuit filed in Denver County.

The family was joined at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park by their two-year-old son, an uncle, aunt and cousins, none of them named in the lawsuit, on their first outing since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

Wongel was on the ride with her uncle, aunt, two cousins and another unidentified relative at the time. They did not notice the girl had fallen until the ride completed its descent, and the uncle looked to see if she had enjoyed herself.

Colorado Springs girl killed on mine drop ride was not strapped in, report says

“He was stricken with terror to see that Wongel was not in her seat,” the lawsuit says, then they saw her at the bottom of the mine shaft.

The family is seeking unspecified damages and wants Wongel’s death to be declared a felony killing.

The lawsuit also cites a state investigation into the incident that found operators of the ride – identified in the suit for the first time as Steve Ochoa and Toby Williams – had not buckled Wongel into her seat with two sets of safety belts across her lap, both of which she had been sitting on. The ride was designed without safety harnesses, as other vertical drop rides have, but instead with a pair of lap belts, one of which locks into a special safety mechanism.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s division of oil and public safety found the workers had overridden a warning device on the ride that indicated one of the lap belts was not properly fastened. Once that happened, one of the workers hit the button that sent the ride on its fatal journey.

“This was extreme recklessness. They knew if she wasn’t belted, she would die,” the family’s attorney, Dan Caplis, said. “They didn’t do their job, even after a warning told them there was a problem, they did a work-around and launched that ride.”

Park owners, through a spokesperson, said they were “aware of the lawsuit” and that “it would be inappropriate to comment on pending litigation.”

“Our hearts go out to the Estifanos family and those impacted by their loss,” the emailed statement said.

Garfield County prosecutors have said they are reviewing the case for potential criminal charges, but did not immediately reply to The Gazette seeking an update Wednesday.

A DOLE spokeswoman on Wednesday said officials were still determining whether administrative actions would be taken against the park, such as a fine or other punishment.

State investigators also determined that employees at the park had not been properly trained to operate its attractions and ordered additional training. State records show its rides, including the Haunted Mine Shaft, had been properly inspected each year.

The lawsuit alleges park owners knew ride operators on occasion had not properly belted people into their seats long before Wongel’s death, citing a 2018 incident in which an unidentified woman complained in an email that a teenager was unbelted when operators were about to release the ride. Tragedy was averted only after the woman said she yelled at the operators to “wait, wait!”

“I can assure you that this email will allow us to retrain and continue to assure the utmost safe operation of this ride and other aspects of the park,” the park’s human resources manager replied to the woman.

The lawsuit noted a second complaint a year later in which the park was told of operators not properly checking to ensure riders were belted into their seats. The operators in that incident allegedly argued with riders who complained before catching their oversight.

Park officials did not disclose either incident to the state, according to the lawsuit.

A DOLE spokeswoman said the park did not disclose the 2018 incident despite a specific request by investigator for any complaints about rides.

The park’s response to investigators: “We do not have a process for documenting complaints.”

Central to the lawsuit is likely to be liability waivers Estifanos’ family signed before stepping onto the ride. The waivers absolve the park from any negligence or mistakes that result in someone’s injury or death. Colorado is one of the few states that allow a parent or guardian to waive the rights of a minor.

The waivers would not apply if the park or its employees acted recklessly.