Trial set for Jaramillo Family lawsuit against Adventureland

ALTOONA, Iowa (KCRG) - The trial has been set for the lawsuit claiming Adventureland’s negligence was to blame for the death of an 11-year-old at a theme park in 2021.

Michael Jaramillo, 11, who was a student at Linn-Mar, died after a raft on the ride capsized, pinning the riders underwater. Michael’s older brother David was seriously injured in the incident, spending a month in the hospital. David Sr., the father, shattered his shoulder attempting to lift the raft after it flipped.

The Jaramillo family filed a lawsuit back in June alleging that no staff from the park came to help and the ride was allowed to continue to operate, with thousands of pounds of water continuing down the river despite the parents’ screams for help.

The lawsuit says Adventureland knew the Raging River ride had experienced mechanical issues before and even the morning of the accident, including rafts hitting the bottom, but the ride kept running. It also claims employees staffing the ride were not trained properly and could not respond quickly to the raft flipping. And it says Adventureland had locked gates that delayed ambulances and firefighters from reaching the Jaramillos sooner.

The trial is set for March 11th, 2024.

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