Woman demands $50,000 from Universal over alleged injuries from same roller coaster man died on

A woman is suing Universal Orlando Resort, claiming she was injured on the same ride on which a man recently died from blunt impact injuries.

Sandi Streets filed a negligence claim against the park, stating that she sustained permanent injuries after riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster at Epic Universe earlier this year.

The alleged injuries are said to have occurred after riding the same roller coaster on which 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala became unresponsive before later being pronounced dead on 17 September.

In her lawsuit, 49-year-old Streets says she was invited to the park on 30 April, three weeks before it was officially opened to the public, as she was an annual passholder. She says while on the roller coaster her head 'shook violently and slammed into her seat’s headrest' for the duration of the two-minute ride, which reaches speeds of nearly 65 mph, ABC reports.

The woman is suing Universal Orlando (Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The roller coaster enthusiast says she enjoyed a day at the park before going on the Stardust Racers last, but when she exited the ride, she began experiencing a severe headache and sore neck, which she initially put down to dehydration and exhaustion.

According to her attorney, Nicholas Spetsas, 'the headaches persisted days later'.

He says Streets sought medical attention when the pain did not subside and later decided to take legal action against the park.

Spersas says the 'ultimate goal' of the lawsuit, which is seeking at least $50,000 in damages, is to make 'the ride safer for everyone.'

He noted that the Stardust Racers only have a lap restraint similar to a seatbelt and nothing else, which he branded 'extremely dangerous' when 'travelling at high speed.'

They have criticised the lack of shoulder restraint (Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"If you got into a car wreck and you didn’t have a shoulder restraint, the insurance company would have a big issue," he said. On this ride, however, there were no shoulder restraints.

Last week, 32-year-old Zavala died from 'multiple blunt impact injuries' after riding the same roller coaster. His family have now hired a team of lawyers to try and determine what happened that day to lead to those fatal injuries.

One of the attorneys working on the case, Natalie Jackson, told reporters that Zavala 'suffered repeated head injuries during the ride and was unconscious for the majority' of it, adding that he had hit himself against the metal on the ride.

The 32-year-old died on 17 September (GoFundMe)

Despite these claims, internal investigations conducted by Universal found that the ride had been functioning as expected, according to Universal Orlando Resort President Karen Irwin.

A Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services spokesperson confirmed their findings 'align with those shared by Universal after monitoring the same tests and reviewing the same information.'

The ride remains closed to the public while investigations are ongoing.

Universal did not immediately respond when LADbible approached for comment.