The The trial over a wrong death lawsuit of a Ugandan activist has begun. For want of an $8.00 basic padlock, our world lost an extraordinary warrior for good; a young woman influencer who was destined to become our societys future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates or Oprah Winfrey, according to the claim, which is a precursor to a formal lawsuit. McGinn said if her life hadn't been cut short that Nakajjigo's trajectory suggested she would have gone on to become a non-profit CEO who could eventually have netted an annual income in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions. According to the family's claim, three other people have died from similar accidents with unsecured gates over the past 32 years. Winter conditions make for slippery hiking; proceed with caution," the tweet said. just as COVID-19 was starting to make U.S. headlines, Do not sell or share my personal information. Michaud's filing clears the path for a full lawsuit, which is expected to be served within the coming months. The humanitarian had traveled to the US to further her studies and was awarded with the Luff Peace Fellowship by the University of Boulder in Colorado. DENVER (AP) The family of a womens rights activist from Uganda has filed a more than $270 million wrongful death and personal injury claim against the National Park Service after she was decapitated by an unsecured gate at Utahs Arches National Park. "She's got quite a few projects started, and we need to make sure those projects survive after A lot of people just want to continue that because that's what she would have wanted from us.". Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. According to CBS News, neither the U.S. government nor the Nakajjigo family disputed the facts of the claim. A newlywed couples road trip to Arches National Park in Utah ended in tragedy when a metal gate at the park exit swung across the road and decapitated the 25-year-old woman as she rode in a car. As they entered, high winds blew the park entrance gate a swinging pole back across the highway. "She really loved the Denver vibe and so do I. WebWidower Struggles With Loss After Wife Decapitated By Gate In Arches National Park 1,777,542 views Nov 12, 2020 30K Dislike Save CBS Colorado 98.1K subscribers The National Park Service did not respond to an email seeking comment, and the media relations voicemail inbox was full and could not accept messages. The National Park Service and Arches National Park are accused of not securing the gate, which was installed to swing in the wrong direction and was being held open by a flimsy metal tab that was worn down and rounded, according to the claim. WebVideo of the crash shows Michaud was driving and Nakajjigo was in the front passenger seat as they drove toward the gate at about the same speed as other vehicles, according to a She was living in Boulder, Colorado, and attending the Watson Institute, a program for young entrepreneurs and innovators, when she met Michaud. In opening statements Monday in Salt Lake City, attorneys representing Michaud and Nakajjigo's family said they were seeking $140 million in damages from the government. All rights reserved. We take pride in exposing the hypocrisy of corporations, other organizations, and individuals whose actions put innocent people in harms way. The park was at capacity and it was just after 8 a.m. National parks want to Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Ryan studied neuroscience and has spent the last several years working as an operations manager in transportation logistics. "The woman I loved and I saw her for just her.". The gate barely missed Michaud. Shelly Bradbury is a breaking news reporter who joined The Denver Post in November 2019. They married about three months prior. NEW YORK POLICE SERGEANT FATALLY STRUCK IN WRONG-WAY CRASH. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. For want of an $8 basic padlock, our world lost an extraordinary warrior for good, the claim said. Park staff told investigators the gate was usually left unsecured, and that typically the gates own weight kept it in place, so it was not locked in place by any other means. Nakajjigo and her husband, Ludovic Michaud, were on vacation in eastern Utah, visiting national parks across the region several months after their wedding. Nakajjigo was born in Kampala, Uganda, and used her university tuition money to start a nonprofit community health care center when she was 17, providing free reproductive health services to girls and young women, according to a biography included in the claim. WebWhen I went to Arches National Park in 2021, I got turned around at the gate. On the edge of the park, a metal gate normally secured with a lock was left untethered. The claim also argues that NPS regularly uses gates constructed "out of metal pipes with spear-like sharp ends," and that Arches National Park had "a set of these metal pipe gates with lance-like sharp ends at the entrance/exit of the park. A gust of wind apparently dislodged the arm of the metal gate, which swung across the roadway. November 13, 2020 / 7:49 AM Nakajjigo moved to Boulder, Colorado when she was offered a full scholarship to the Watson Institute and began a social entrepreneurship program in 2019. Her family is filing a $270 million wrongful death claim against the park, saying her death was preventable. Suspect arrested after 6 stabbed in downtown L.A. 3 arrested for nearly $1 million in stolen student, Carjacking suspect shot in wild chase in L.A. County, Newport Beach home dangling after cliffside collapse, Over $38M stolen from low-income SoCal families, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Chang has filed a $270 million claim for wrongful death. Last updated: August 16, 2022 Was this page helpful? They said claims by the familys lawyers that Nakajjigo, who was 25 at the time of her death, was on track to be a non-profit CEO shortly were too speculative to be used as a basis for damages. The gate narrowly missed Michaud, who was driving. Traffic may back up between the entrance station and US 191. The show saw an audience of 6.3 million each week, and Nakajjigo was named Ugandas Young Personality of the Year,' the Denver Post reported in a 2020 article detailing Nakajjigos death. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Bay Area weather: After thunderstorms and hail, snow could be on the way this weekend, Family sues after newlywed is killed by swinging gate at Arches National Park, 1 killed when business jet encounters severe turbulence, Bay Area honeymooners say snorkel boat abandoned them off Maui coast, At least 26 killed in fiery train crash in Greece, If it was your child, when would you give up? Mother searches for 5-year-old son swept away in January floods, Online fundraiser emerges for Brentwood father who died while kayaking. The United States government will pay more than $10 million to the family of a Ugandan human rights activist who was decapitated in a 2020 accident at Arches National Park in Utah. / CBS Colorado. FILE - Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. Michauds attorneys also said the federal government was aware of the dangers, citing a 1980 accident in which a man was impaled by an unsecured gate as he rode in the back of a pickup in Californias Stanislaus National Forest. WebLudovic Michaud and his new wife, Esther Nakajjigo, were driving around Arches National Park on a windy spring day in 2020 when a metal gate whipped around, sliced through the Ryan Farrick is a freelance writer and small business advertising consultant based out of mid-Michigan. Newlyweds Esther Essie Nakajjigo, 25, and Ludovic Ludo The family is hoping to use money from the case to continue Essie's projects. "Despite this fact, the NPS has done nothing to ensure the safety of its visitors and guests.". Esther Nakajjigo, 25, died on June 13, 2020 when she, along with her new husband Ludovic Michaud, visited Utah. Esther Nakajjigo died on June 13 after a metal gate swung into a car she and her husband were in and sliced het head off Credit: Handout. This story has been updated to correct Michauds age. In the fatal incident, a gust of wind apparently dislodged it and sent it smashing into the passenger side of the couples rented car. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Newlyweds Esther Essie Nakajjigo, 25, and Ludovic Ludo Michaud, 27, were driving out of the park during a camping trip on June 13 when strong winds blew the metal gate into the side of their car and penetrated it like a hot knife through butter, according to the administrative claim, which was filed in October. The familys claim said that three other people in cars were killed by such gates on National Park Service property since 1988. The newlyweds were driving during a camping trip on June 13, when a strong gust of wind blew an unsecured metal gate that sliced through the side of their car and decapitated Nakajjigo. Deborah Chang, the Los Angeles-based attorney representing Michaud, claimed there was nothing he could do to swerve out of the way of the gate that killed his wife and missed him by a hair. 7 CHILDREN INJURED IN NEW YORK BUS CRASH THAT DAMAGED HOME, The family's lawsuit claims when the national parks reopened in April 2020 after being shuttered due to COVID-19, rangers at the national park in Utah didn't secure the gate in place, which in effect "turned a metal pipe into a spear that went straight through the side of a car, decapitating and killing Esther Nakajjigo.". Michaud says he wants to keep her legacy going, but he also wants the gates at National Parks and forests across the U.S. to be safe for visitors. "It could have happened to anyone and if nothing is done, it's going to happen again," he said. The Oscars will air on ABC and can be streamed on ABC.com and the ABC app as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV or FuboTV. The show had an audience of 6.3 million every week. According to the claim, 25-year-old Esther Nakajjigo was decapitated while sitting in the passenger seat of a car that was exiting Arches National Park. Arches National Park, notes CBS News, had just re-opened recreation following a decrease in coronavirus cases. CBS News reports that the case attracted significant attention, considering the gruesome circumstances and Nakajjigos status as a relatively well-known human rights activist. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Image via Wikimedia Commons via Flickr/user: Brian Turner. The suit was filed on June 8. The United Nations Population Fund gave her a Woman Achiever Award when she was 17, and she was named Ugandas Ambassador for Women and Girls at the ceremony. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. Nakajjigo, adds CBS, had grown up in poverty. The family of a young woman who was killed by a swinging gate at Arches National Park has sued the park service over her death. Courtesy Michaud, from France, took a job at a start-up. Nakijjijo, originally from Uganda, "was a world-renowned activist, movie and TV star as well as a youth influencer," the claim says. In an email to The Associated Press, National Park Service spokeswoman Vanessa Lacayo expressed sympathy for Nakajjigos family, friends and those whose lives she touched but did not address the wrongful death claim. WebUSA TODAY 0:00 0:49 Two people died Friday while hiking in Arches National Park in Utah. She described Nakajjigo as a prominent women's rights activist who rose from poverty to become the host of a solutions-oriented reality television series in Uganda focused on empowering women on issues such as education and healthcare. We loved getting out and going to beautiful places," Michaud said. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. In 2018, she participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship program at Drexel University, and she was also the recipient of the 2018 Luff Peace Fellowship at Watson Institute. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? Both of Nakijjijo's parents, who listed their addresses as Kamapala, Uganda, have also filed wrongful death claims. This photo was taken in the hours before a gate swung into the couple's car, killing Nakajjigo. A YOUNG activist hailed as a "future Princess Diana or Oprah" for her work was decapitated in a gruesome accident while she and her husband were hiking in Arches National Park. "I had a ton of flashbacks. We just dont want this to ever happen again, Michaud said in an interview Thursday. In the courts ruling, Judge Jenkins awarded $9.5 million to Nakajjigos husband, $700,000 to her mother, and $350,000 to her father. WebMOAB, Utah Ludo Michaud heard a loud noise. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Chief Ranger Scott Brown said a 65-year-old man and 60-year-old woman died after falling into the bowl area near Delicate Arch. Nakajjigo and Michaud, a French-born tech solutions architect, met on a dating app last year and tied the knot at a courthouse ceremony in March. She previously worked as a crime reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in Pennsylvania and the Chattanooga Times Free Press in Tennessee. Denver woman Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo and her husband, Ludovic "Ludo" Michaud, were visiting Arches National Park in mid-June when a freak accident left Nakajjigo dead. While growing up in Uganda, Nakajjigo used her college tuition funds to open up a nonprofit community education center in her home country. 2 injured, including officer, in Aurora crash, 2 hurt, including officer, in rollover crash, Documentary featuring local family coping with loss after suicide aims to open up conversations, 77 inches of snow fall at Colorado ski area in 9 days, Mandela Washington Fellowship program at Drexel University, Luff Peace Fellowship at Watson Institute, Search of Aurora house in case of missing teen Lashaya Stine continues, Head brewer at Denver Beer Co. dies in climbing accident. The pair married in March of this year. WebThey said claims by the family's lawyers that Nakajjigo, who was 25 at the time of her death, was on track to be a nonprofit CEO shortly were too speculative to be used as a basis for Lindsay Clancy's murder of 3 kids shows cruel trick psychosis plays, Train derailment in Springfield, Ohio as residents ordered to shelter in place, Rape survivor 'sobbed seeing Gabby Petito bodycam vid after same cop did nothing', Mom 'stabs 3 of her kids to death and wounds 2 others in unsupervised visit', 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, A 25-year-old activist was beheaded in a freak accident while enjoying a trip to Arches National Park in Utah, Esther Nakajjigo died on June 13 after a metal gate swung into a car she and her husband were in and sliced het head off. The webcams below provide views from either end of the Arches National Park entrance road. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! It's known for a series of sculpture-like fins and arches made of an orange sandstone that wind and water have eroded for centuries. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. WebThe photo in this video of the arch is Corona Arch and I dont its in Archs national park. Ludovic Michaud was driving around the scenic red rock landscapes of Utah's Arches National Park on a windy spring day in 2020 when something unthinkable happened: A metal gate whipped around, sliced through the passenger door of his car and decapitated his new 25-year-old wife, Esther Nakajjigo. WebDENVER The family of a Denver woman, who was killed when the entrance gate at Arches National Park swung into the passenger compartment of a rental car and decapitated her, WebThe family of Ugandan philanthropist Esther Nakajjigo, who was decapitated by a traffic gate in front of her husband in Arches National Park in Utah, has been awarded $10.5m. Webcam Entrance Station Webcam "Our mission is to make sure this doesnt happen again," Michaud said. "The National Park Service has, in face, known for decades that an unsecured metal pipe gate creates an undetectable hazard and dangerous conditions," says the claim. Michauds attorneys also said the federal government was aware of the dangers, citing a 1980 accident in which a man was impaled by an unsecured gate as he rode in the back of a pickup in Californias Stanislaus National Forest. Web6 Esther Nakajjigo was a Ugandan human rights activist and newlywed wife when the 25-year-old was killed at Arches National Park in 2020, decapitated by an unsecured gate that is Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. Legal Reader is devoted to protecting consumers. The lawsuit, adds CBS, observed that the activists death could have been prevented if Arches National Park had simply purchased an $8 padlock for the unsecured gate. "The most important thing for me is to try continuing what she's done," Michaud said to The Associated Press. Michaud is seeking $240 million in damages and Nakajjigo's parents are seeking $30 million. Fox News Flash top headlines are here. She and Michaud were married in March, and the two traveled to Arches to celebrate the one-year anniversary of when they first met on a dating app. She and Michaud were married in March. Decapitated human rights activists family wins $10 million lawsuit after accident at Utah park, Denver newlyweds trip to Arches National Park ends with wifes death, Family awarded $10.5 million for newlywed decapitated by metal gate at Arches National Park in Utah. ", "Such metal pipe gates have been known to move when left unsecured, swing to the traveled part of the roadways, and penetrate into vehicles," the claim argues. She received numerous other humanitarian awards and created a popular reality television series aimed at empowering young mothers. All rights reserved. Arches National Park is a 120-square-mile desert landscape near Moab, Utah, that is visited by more than 1.5 million people annually. WebIn 2020, Ludovic Michaud was driving with his 25-year-old wife Esther Nakajjigo out of Utah's Arches National Park to get ice cream on June 13 when a metal gate swung into the car A lot of people just want to continue that because thats what she would have wanted from us.. The tragic accident is now the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit Michaud and Nakajjigo's family are pursuing, in which they argue that the U.S. Park Service was negligent and did not maintain the gates at the entrances and exits to the parks, leading to Nakajjigo's death. She married Michaud in March, just as COVID-19 was starting to make U.S. headlines. 2 min read June 17, 2021 - 6:27AM Esther GRAND COUNTY, Utah A 27-year-old Denver man filed a wrongful death claim against the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) on Oct. 22 after it says his wife was decapitated by a vehicle gate at Arches National Park in Grand County, Utah. "Our world lost an extraordinary warrior for good; a young woman influencer who was destined to become our societys future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates, or Oprah Winfrey," the claim says. United States attorneys do not dispute that park officials shouldered blame, but argued the amount the family should be awarded is far less and called into questions the ways in which the damages being sought were calculated. He noted she had recently worked as a host at a restaurant around the time of her death and didn't have a Bachelor's degree. Video of the crash shows Michaud was driving and Nakajjigo was in the front passenger seat as they drove toward the gate at about the same speed as other vehicles, according to a sheriffs report. Arches National Park, which has more than 2,000 natural stone arches,closed Delicate Arch on Friday for a about six hours before it reopened, the parksaid on Twitter. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Nakajjigo grew up in Uganda and at 17 was recognized by the United Nations for her work for women shed donated her college tuition money to start a nonprofit community health center that provided free reproductive health services to young women. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. On June 13, they had gone on a hike and had a picnic. "I'm still trying to figure out how to move forward, how to wake up in the morning.
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