Family of woman decapitated in Utah national park by swinging gate to The gate narrowly missed Michaud, who was driving. You wouldnt able to detect it or see it, she told Fox 13. On Monday, a federal judge ruled Ludovic Michaud, the husband of Esther Nakajjigo, will receive $9.5 million, while Nakajjigo's mother and father were awarded $700,000 and $350,000, respectively, per the Salt Lake Tribune. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. 'Shadow pandemic': Women, girls bear unequal share of Covid-19 burden, U.N. official warns, National parks begin to reopen across the country. SALT LAKE CITY The family of human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, who was decapitated in an accident in Arches National Park, has sued the National Park Service. Nakajjigo and her husband Ludovic Michaud were vacationing in eastern Utah, visiting the region's national parks months after their wedding. The lawsuit was filed about a year after Nakajjigo was killed in June 2020, when wind apparently caused the unsecured, metal gate on the parks main road to swing around and strike her and her husbands car, decapitating her. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was driving around the stunning Arches National Park in Utah, US, in 2020 along with her husband Ludovic Michaud when the unthinkable happened. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The United States will pay family members of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in an accident at Arches National Park more than . 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. Photo: Esther Nakajjigo/Twitter. She was also awarded a full scholarship from the king of Buganda. Michaud, Nakajjigo's husband, spoke about the intense trauma he's endured since his wife's death, including sleeplessness, nightmares and suicidal ideation. The family of a Ugandan young girl child activist, Esther Nakajjigo who died in the United States of America (USA) have asked government to help them repatriate her body, to be accorded a decent burial. What if he hadn't suggested the trip to Arches? The gruesome nature of Nakajjigo's death and the fact that she was a renowned Ugandan women's rights activist drew widespread attention to the case. The claim describes Nakajjigos final moments in graphic detail and says the end of the lance-like gate pierced the side of their car and penetrated it like a hot knife through butter.. DENVER (CBS4) - The family of a Denver woman has filed a $270 million wrongful death claim against Arches National Park after she was killed there over the summer. Something went wrong, please try again later. FILE - Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. Ms Nakajjigos husband said his wifes death was the worst thing I hope I will ever see. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death Esther Nakajjigo was killed at Arches National Park in 2020. Picture: Handout The family of a women's rights activist who was decapitated in an accident on a trip with her new husband has sued the US government agency responsible for the park where she died. In the opening statements of the wrongful death lawsuit, attorneys representing Michaud and Nakajjigos family recounted the moment Michaud realised his wife had been killed. The gate narrowly avoided Michaud, who was left covered head to toe in his wife's blood. Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was driving around the stunning Arches National Park in Utah, US, in 2020 along with her husband Ludovic Michaud when the unthinkable happened. Nakajjigo, who went by Essie, was a womens rights champion in Uganda. She was particularly passionate about reducing teenage pregnancy and created two reality television shows that empowered women. Nakajjigo worked on fundraising to open a hospital in an underserved part of Kampala, Ugandas capital, became a philanthropic celebrity and immigrated to the United States for a fellowship at the Boulder, Colorado-based Watson Institute for emerging leaders. All this building towards the $140million in damages. Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah. The lawsuit alleges that a simple $8 padlock could have prevented the gate from swinging, and claims the park violated regulations. Attorney Randi McGinn, representing Nakajjigos family, on Monday asked the family to leave when he described the death in gruesome detail. Trial begins Ugandan woman's death in Arches National Park | 9news.com Recreation areas had recently opened after pandemic-era closures and, on the edge of Arches, a metal gate normally secured with a lock was left untethered. The amount was far less than the $140 million Nakajjigos family originally sought. Everything reminds Michaud of Nakajjigo. Esther Nakajjigo had been visiting Utah's Arches National Park when she was killed by a gate caught in the wind. The family of Esther Nakajjigo accused the National Park Service of negligence for not properly securing the metal gate that killed her. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death First published on November 12, 2020 / 2:34 PM. Esther Nakajjigo was driving with her newlywed husband on their honeymoon in Arches when an open road gate was swung by strong winds into their rental car. This decision serves as a reminder of the importance of proper maintenance and safety measures in our national parks, so as to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, Michaud said in a statement to CBS News on Monday. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her. Drenched in his wifes blood, Michaud instinctively jumped out of the slowly moving car after impact, then got back in to put it in park. Outside's long reads email newsletter features our strongest writing, most ambitious reporting, and award-winning storytelling about the outdoors. The lawsuit filed by Ludovic Michaud, of Denver, claims his wife Esther Nakajjigo was decapitated while in the passenger seat of a car exiting Arches National Park. 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. She later created a pair of reality television shows designed to empower women. On June 13, 2020, Nakajjigo, who was riding in the passenger seat as her husband drove them out of the park, was suddenly decapitated when the triangular, metal gate swung around and sliced into their rental car. They stipulate, however, that the plaintiffs should be awarded $22,508 for Nakajjigo's funeral expenses and $5,000 for Michaud's therapy expenses. Nakajjigo was not sure where she wanted to work whether it was in the U.S., back in Uganda or elsewhere but Michaud was willing to follow her wherever she could continue to make the most impact. (Athea Trial Lawyers) Esther Nakajjigo is shown in this undated photo. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death Esther Nakajjigo was beheaded after the wind whipped a metal gate round cutting into the passenger side of the car, Esther Nakajjigo with her husband Ludovic Michaud, A picture of the gates that led to the young woman's death. During the trials opening statements in December, Nakajjigo was described as a pearl beyond price with limitless potential, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The United Nations Population Fund awarded her a Woman Achiever Award," the claim states. Nakajigos family and Michaud are suing the U.S. government for negligence as well as negligent infliction of emotional distress on the part of Michaud, who had to witness the grisly scene. The closing arguments came after five days of trial that included testimony from Nakajjigo's family, friends and mentors, as well as from bystanders who witnessed the accident. 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. Family of Newlywed and Activist Decapitated at Utah's Arches National The gate had been left unlatched against federal policy for two weeks prior to the tragic accident in June 2020. Its still hard to concentrate, but I try to.. Berndt said her team in no way believes Nakajjigo was an average person, and that using reliable data to estimate her lost earnings isn't a value judgment of Nakajjigo. The familys lawsuit claims when the national parks reopened in April 2020 after being shuttered due to Covid-19, rangers at the national park in Utah didnt 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. Ms Nakajjigo met Mr Michaud after she relocated to the US, where she was awarded the Luff Peace Fellowship by the University of Boulder in Colorado. The same year, Nakajjigo was named Ugandas ambassador for women and girls. Elizabeth Chuck is a reporter for NBC News who focuses on health and mental health, particularly issues that affect women and children. A woman who had married her husband only three months ago has died after a horror crash saw a car park gate swing through the couple's car and cut off her head. "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. 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. The 25-year-old human rights activist and newlywed wife. A family is getting $10 million in the wrongful death of Ugandan human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, who was decapitated by a swinging metal gate in Arches National Park, Utah. Jenkins awarded Michaud $9.5 million; Nakajjigos mother, Christine Namagembe, $700,000; and her father, John Bosco Kateregga, $350,000. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. The gruesome nature of Nakajjigo's death and the fact that she was a renowned Ugandan women's rights activist drew widespread attention to the case. Having received numerous international accolades and awards, Nakajjigo came to the United States to further her education, where she met Michaud a video streaming technology solution architect via a dating app. A lot of things remind me of her, Michaud told the Salt Lake Tribune. Nelson, the governments attorney, has said an appropriate award would be $3.5million (2.9m). Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was on a trip to the Utah park with her . Esther Nakajjigo, a native of Uganda, accomplished more at age 25 than most do in a lifetime. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Her dreams were just about to come true, Chang said. I felt completely meaningless after losing Nakajjigo, he said. I really wanted to show her Arches, he told Fox 13. 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 now at the center of a wrongful death trial. In his judgement, Jenkins said the government had provided a more reasonable projection of Nakajjigos earnings potential. Disputing the family's claims the victim was on track to become the CEO of a non-profit who could eventually have netted an annual income in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. IE 11 is not supported. Nakajjigo, 25, was a Ugandan human rights activist and moved to Colorado in 2019 to attend the Watson Institute in Boulder. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. The smaller projection takes into account only the averages of a statistical black woman, she said; while the higher projections factor in that Nakajjigo was a real, extraordinary person. Our mission is to make sure this doesnt happen again, Michaud said. Lorsque vous utilisez nos sites et applications, nous utilisons des, authentifier les utilisateurs, appliquer des mesures de scurit, empcher les spams et les abus; et. Michaud was not injured in the accident, but he was covered head-to-toe in his wifes blood. 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. Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax According to NBC, the claim was served Oct. 22, and alleges that if park employees had properly installed the gate to not swing into oncoming traffic or placed an $8 padlock on the gate to secure it from moving in the breeze, the world would not have lost a young woman influencer destined to become our societys future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates, or Oprah Winfrey.. "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 society's future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates or Oprah Winfrey," read the initial claim from Nakajjigo's husband and family. Nakajjigo was decapitated after wind swung an untethered metal gate into her car, killing her immediately as her husband sat in the seat next to her. The wind whipped a metal gate round which sliced through the passenger door of the car and decapitated Esther. FILE Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. In their legal complaint, Michaud and Nakajjigos parents said the National Park Service was negligent for not maintaining the gate. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. 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 . Newlywed woman decapitated by car park entrance gate blown open in high Human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, 25, died on June 13, 2020, when a traffic control gate blew into her rental car at Arches National Park in the US state of Utah. According to a court filing, the National Park Service and Arches National Park created a lethal and undetectable danger with the gate, which turned a metal pipe into a spear that went straight through the side of a car, decapitating and killing Esther Nakajjigo.. Ludovic 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 passenger door of. 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. Woman's decapitation at Arches National Park leads to $270M wrongful The gate had been unsecured for the previous two weeks, despite national park requirements that prohibit gates from swinging, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court. An activist's dreams 'were about to come true.' Then, a horrific Nakajjigo was a women's rights champion in her home country of Uganda; she founded a nonprofit community health center using her college tuition money, and created two reality TV shows centered around empowering women. Esther Nakajjigo (credit: Ludovic Michaud). But now, Michaud said, he returns to an apartment that doesn't feel like a home. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) 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 was decapitated after wind swung an untethered metal gate into her . It feels lonely, and thats hard. Family of Woman Decapitated by Swinging Gate at State Park Awarded $10. ", In 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 and cut her head off, according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News. Its a fear of erasing her, I guess, when you use something that she bought or that she ate or that we did together.. She was named as Ugandas ambassador for women and girls and received an award from the United Nations after she used her university tuition money to start a non-profit community centre that offered free healthcare to girls and women aged 10 to 24. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death The ongoing trial will largely focus on determining the damages that may go to her family and Michaud. 2023 EHM Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. Monday's closing arguments focused heavily on the differences in testimony made by several economic experts, two of whom projected that Nakajjigo would have earned at least $9 million in her lifetime and the third who estimated Nakajjigo would have made between about $750,000 and $938,000. NBC wrote that Nakajjigo had come to the United States to further her education, participating in programs at Drexel University in Philadelphia as a Mandela Washington Fellow and at the Watson Institute in Boulder, Colo., where she was the recipient of a Luff Peace Fellowship., Michaud, originally of France, was uninjured in the accident, but, according to NBCs report, has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder., Donate to the newsroom now. Seven people have been rushed to hospital after severe turbulence on a flight led to an emergency landing. A federal judge ruled Monday that the U.S. will shell out more than $10 million in damages to the family of Esther Nakajjigo after she was killed in an accident at a Utah national park in. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death Ms Nakajjigo and her husband, Ludo Michaud, 26, were driving out of the scenic parks carpark when wind caught the unlatched gate and the metal pole on top sliced through the side of their rental car and hit Ms Nakajjigo in the head and neck, killing her instantly. Ms Nakajjigo worked to improve education and rights for women and teenage girls in her home country of Uganda and advocated to reduce rates of teenage pregnancy. Courtesy Ludovic Michaud Nakajjigo. Esther Nakajjigo and her husband were visiting the regions national parks months after their wedding. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. The family of a womens rights activist who was killed in a gruesome accident at a national park is suing a US agency over her tragic death. Denver man files suit after wife's death at National Park - KMGH The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a . The wind whipped a metal. Newlyweds Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud visited the park in mid June. 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. Esther Nakajjigo was born in poverty in Kampala, Uganda, and rose to become a celebrated human rights activist through her work focusing on preventing teen pregnancy. 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. They had wanted three children. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. Esther Nakajjigo was killed at Arches National Park in 2020. One of his regrets is not saying, "I love you," one more time. Esther Nakajjigo beheaded by gate at Utah's Arches National Park | news The trial gave me and Essies family members an opportunity to tell Essies beautiful story, and it was so important to me to have the chance to stand up and speak for this amazing woman.. By his verdict, Judge Bruce Jenkins has shown the world how the American justice system works to hold its own government accountable and greatly values all lives, including that of Esther Nakajjigo, a remarkable young woman from Uganda, Randi McGinn, the familys attorney said in a statement. "On behalf of the United States, we again extend our condolences to Ms. Nakajjigos friends, family and beloved community. In pink tops and white pants, women celebrate free period products becoming available in Utahs state buildings, Proposal to boost Utah bar licenses gets smaller with another round of cuts by lawmakers, Moab, Park City cry foul as Utah lawmakers target rules for vacation homes. SALT . 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. By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's. Nakajjigo had been celebrated for using money earmarked for her college tuition to instead open a nonprofit community health center in Uganda at age 17.
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