THE family of a newlywed woman ‘decapitated by a metal gate’ at a Utah national park while on a trip with her new husband is suing the park for $270 million.
Esther Nakajjigo, 25, tragically died on June 13 after an unsecured metal gate swung into the road, decapitating her as she sat in the passenger seat next to her husband Ludovic Michaud, 26, as they exited the parking lot of the Utah landmark.
The Denver couple were leaving Arches National Park and driving toward the exit when a gust of wind suddenly lifted a metal gate and the arm swung into the roadway, impaling their car.
They had been on their way to get ice cream when “the end of the lance-like gate pierced the side of their car and penetrated it like a hot knife through butter,” according to the claim, obtained by NBC News.
The newlyweds were celebrating the one-year anniversary of their first date.
Esther’s family has since filed a $270 million wrongful death claim against Arches National Park.
Her husband, Michaud, is seeking $240 million in damages from the National Park Service, while Nakajjigo’s family is seeking $30 million.
“The National Park Service has, in fact, known for decades that an unsecured metal pipe gate creates an undetectable hazard and dangerous condition,” the claim states, as reported by CBS Denver.
$270 MILLION LAWSUIT
Attorney Deborah Chang, who filed the claim on behalf of Michaud, as well as Nakajjigo’s parents, wrote that the National Park Service has for years used entrance and exit gates made of metal poles with spear-like sharp ends, and they were known to swing into roadways when left unsecured.
“Employees knew or should have known that winds strong enough to carve stone are certainly strong enough to blow an unrestrained metal pipe gate into the path of an oncoming vehicle,” wrote Chang, as reported by AP.
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.
Employees knew or should have known that winds strong enough to carve stone are certainly strong enough to blow an unrestrained metal pipe gate into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
Attorney Deborah Chang
Michaud’s 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 California’s Stanislaus National Forest.
The claim alleges that three other people have died from similar incidents involving gates in the last 32 years and argues that a simple $8 padlock could have prevented the gate from swinging.
“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.
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.
The United Nations Population Fund gave her a Woman Achiever Award when she was 17, and she was named Uganda’s Ambassador for Women and Girls at the ceremony.
She received numerous other humanitarian awards and created a popular reality television series aimed at empowering young mothers.
“The show saw an audience of 6.3 million each week, and Nakajjigo was named Uganda’s ‘Young Personality of the Year,’” The Denver Post. reported.
Nakajjigo was offered a full scholarship to the Watson Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and started a social entrepreneurship program in early 2019.
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.
“The most important thing for me is to try continuing what she’s done,” Michaud said. “She’s got quite a few projects started, and we need to make sure those projects survive after her. … A lot of people just want to continue that because thats what she would have wanted from us.”
Michaud, who lived with his Ugandan wife in Denver, Colorado, wasn’t injured in the accident, but he told the news station he was completely covered in his wife’s blood.
He told NBC that the harrowing accident has left him traumatized, and he continues to suffer from PTSD months after.
“I was a couple of inches from dying, but I didn’t, and right now I have a mission: It’s to make sure what she’s done continues,” said Michaud.
Arches National Park is best known for its pristine sandstone arches and its massive red Delicate Arch, which has featured in countless Instagram photos.
The couple planned to throw a big wedding in Uganda once the coronavirus pandemic ended – instead, Michaud is now in mourning and hopes that his claim will save others from experiencing a similar pain.