One also took place on federal government property in the 80s, the outlet continued, when a U.S. Forest Service road closure gate impaled a California camper. Nakajjigo, 25, was a Ugandan human rights activist and moved to Colorado in 2019 to attend the Watson Institute in Boulder. $10.5 million awarded to family of Denver woman killed at Arches Esther Nakajjigo Of Denver Decapitated By Gate :Family Files $270M Wrongful Death Claim Against Arches National Park [VIDEO] Trying To Figure Out How To Move Forward': Widower Of Denver Woman Decapitated By Gate At Arches National Park Struggles After Trauma "Emergency response personnel from the National Park Service, Grand County Sheriffs Office, Grand County EMS, Moab City Police Department, Utah Highway Patrol and Moab Valley Fire Department responded to the scene to provide assistance. The large monetary damages being sought on behalf of Michaud and Nakajjigos parents are a reflection of the suffering they have gone through plus the loss of Nakajjigos future income and fundraising abilities, Chang said. They had a courthouse ceremony in March, with plans to throw a big wedding in Uganda once it was safe to travel again. Nakajjigo married Denver man Ludovic Michaud in March 2020. One, Saving Innocence, depicted teenage girls from urban areas helping teen moms in rural communities go back to school. Several dozen per day. Theres a newsletter that went out to all the parks and the National Park Service that warned of this decades ago. There have been gate accidents across the country, including another one on federal government property in 1980 in which a camper in California was impaled by a U.S. Forest Service road closure gate. How do you measure someone like her? The same year, Nakajjigo was named Uganda's ambassador for women and girls. Show your support Send Flowers Send flowers or a sympathy gift to a service or family. But where they disagree, he said, is how much money Nakajjigo raised in her lifetime and how much education she completed. Receive a notification when services are updated. ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, UTAH: More than 2 years after a woman was killed in a Utah national park, her husband and her family are suing the US government for $140 million in damages. 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 "Essie" Nakajjigo. The complaint also describes how Michaud had to witness the grisly scene. Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Nakajjigo, who was 25 at the time, was "needlessly decapitated," according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News. She said there was nothing that visually set them apart. Because neither the U.S. nor Nakajjigos family disputed the facts of the case, the civil suit focused largely on the amount of damages merited. Arches National Park is a 120-square-mile desert landscape near Moab, Utah, that is visited by more than 1.5 million people annually. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Michaud and his in-laws previously filed a claim with the National Park Service a step toward filing the lawsuit asking for $270 million. 'Trying To Figure Out How To Move Forward': Widower Of - CBS News Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. She was always willing to help, he said. The plaintiffs contend multiple federal policies require such gates to be secured, but that the gate near the visitors center at Arches was unlatched for two weeks before it struck Nakajjigo. The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. "For how majestic these parks are, it's kind of shocking how rudimentary these gates are," she said. @ArielleHarrison https://t.co/YoCT50YObz. Attorneys representing the U.S. commended her work, yet noted her most recent job was working at a restaurant making $15 per hour. During the trials opening statements in December, Nakajjigo was described as a pearl beyond price with limitless potential, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Esther Nakajjigo, 25, died on a windy summer day in 2020 when a piece of a metal gate from Utah's Arches National Park broke through the passenger door and decapitated her - and now her husband. Her husband was not harmed, the station added. FOX 13 Investigates: Family sues over death of woman killed in Arches U.S. Govt. Only Wants to Pay $3.5 Million to Family of Woman DENVER (CBS4) - The family of a woman killed while visiting Arches National Park is hoping they can change the dangerous conditions that lead to her death and continue the philanthropy she. Of the accidents aftermath, Michaud told FOX 13: I saw the worst thing I hope I will ever see.. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. FOX 13 Investigates: Grisly decapitation of ambassador at Arches - KSTU FOX 13 reported earlier this year how Nakajjigo died June 13, 2020. Nakajjigo was a performer who used her celebrity to improve the status of women and girls in Uganda. 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. Because neither the U.S. nor Nakajjigo's family disputed the facts of the case, the civil suit focused largely on the amount of damages merited. Nakajjigo and her husband Ludovic Michaud were vacationing in eastern Utah, visiting the region's national parks months after their wedding. The family of Esther Nakajjigo accused the National Park Service of negligence for not properly securing the metal gate that killed her. SALT LAKE CITY -- The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than $10 million in damages, a federal judge ruled Monday. / CBS Colorado. The pole gate pierced the passenger compartment of the couple's rental car, a Chevy Malibu, and decapitated Esther. "Woman decapitated at Arches National Park, $270 million wrongful death SALT LAKE CITY A judge awarded $10.2 million to the family and spouse of Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, who was killed by an unsecured gate at Arches National Park in 2020.. Nakajjigo, 25, a women's rights activist from Uganda, was killed when driving in Arches National Park with Ludovic "Ludo" Michaud during a camping trip on June 13, 2020. In June, the couple needed a break from quarantine, so they drove to Utah. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5 million for Utah death - Los The claim she served is legally required before a lawsuit can be filed in court. Heading out the door? McGinn, representing Nakajjigos family, likened her to a nonprofit CEO for an American charity and said she would have likely made millions throughout her life. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. The couple hiked to Delicate Arch and ate lunch in the Windows area before starting their drive out of the park. Opening statements previewed how the trial will hinge less on varying accounts of the accident and instead focus on Nakajiigo's biography and earning potential, which is used to calculate a portion of the damages. 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. In other words, he added, theres no liability for ordinary negligence. SALT LAKE CITY The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than $10 million in damages, a federal judge ruled Monday. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. What happens to First Republic Bank's stock and deposits now? She 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, and had successfully raised funds to build health care facilities in her hometown. The National Park Service did not respond to repeated inquiries from NBC News, nor did Arches National Park Chief Ranger Scott Brown. Powered by, according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News, Famous Rappers Brother Dies From Apparent Suicide. Im still trying to figure out how to move forward, how to wake up in the morning., What he saw and experienced that day, I cannot even imagine, said Deborah Chang, an attorney representing Michaud and the Nakajjigo family. The young activist participated in programs at Drexel University in Philadelphia as a Mandela Washington Fellow and at the Watson Institute in Boulder, Colorado as a Luff Peace Fellow, Moab Sun News said. It feels lonely, and thats hard. It argues that park employees only needed to install the gate with an $8 padlock to prevent it from killing a young woman influencer destined to become our societys future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates, or Oprah Winfrey, NBC News said. Nakajjigo accomplished more by age 25 than most people do in a lifetime. Even simple tasks like cooking rice stored in a jar that Nakajjigo bought before her death feel paralyzing, he said. If you have a story idea or tip for the FOX 13 Investigative unit, please share it with us below: Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.
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