The end of that trial came Monday, but a verdict is still pending. He noted she had recently worked as a host at a restaurant around the time of her death and didnt have a Bachelors degree. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Theres a newsletter that went out to all the parks and the National Park Service that warned of this decades ago. Esther Nakajjigo was a prominent Ugandan human rights activist who was killed in Utah's Arches National Park in 2020. 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. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. As they were leaving the park on June 13, 2020, heavy winds apparently blew the metal entrance gate into the passenger side of the vehicle, striking and killing Nakajjigo. For this work, the United Nations Population Fund gave her the Woman Achiever Award. Something went wrong, please try again later. By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's. She was particularly passionate about reducing teenage pregnancy and created two reality television shows that empowered women. Throughout the trial, attorneys debated estimates of Nakajjigos earnings potential. 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. As the couple was leaving the park, gusts of wind swung the gate around rapidly, enough to slice through the passenger side door of the couples car, decapitating Nakajjigo as her husband sat feet away in the drivers seat. 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 Esther Nakajjigo was killed at Arches National Park in 2020. Nakajjigos remains were flown back to Uganda in August. IE 11 is not supported. November 12, 2020 / 2:34 PM He was "instantly covered with blood," the complaint says. Nakajjigo, 25, was a Ugandan human rights activist and moved to Colorado in 2019 to attend the Watson Institute in Boulder. Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah in the hours before a gate swung into the couple's car, killing Nakajjigo. What happened during the 2023 Utah Legislature. The National Park Service has not commented in relation to the new lawsuit but has previously released a statement expressing sympathy for the young womans death. There is a lot of small things I miss.. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. She was also awarded a full scholarship from the king of Buganda. 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. Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Nakajjigo was decapitated after wind swung an untethered metal gate into her . Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo's husband and parents initially filed a $270 million claim against the National Park Service in 2021 over her death The family of a womens 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. Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah. 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. Posted at 10:15 PM, Nov 12, 2020 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. The claim she served is legally required before a lawsuit can be filed in court. Just as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., Michaud, a video streaming technology solution architect who is originally from France, and Nakajjigo decided they wanted to marry. I know all the parks around Moab Its one of my favourite places in the US, if not my favourite place.. Even simple tasks like cooking rice stored in a jar that Nakajjigo bought before her death feel paralyzing, he said. 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.. The wind whipped a metal gate round which sliced through the passenger door of the car and decapitated Esther. 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.. They said you have to lock it or its going to impale a car, so everyone knows, Chang said. In his ten-page verdict, U.S. District Court Judge Bruce Jenkins said the government admitted fault and apologized for Nakajjigos death. Ms Chang described the part of the gate that struck Ms Nakajjigo as being like a metal spear or a lance and hit the car in literally a split second. John Ssenkindu, Esther's brother, told journalists that her sister was hit by a metallic gate of the Arches National Park in the US . When she was 17, she donated her university tuition money to start a private, nonprofit community health center that she named the Princess Diana Health Centre. Sign up today. 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. 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. As recreation areas in eastern Utah reopened that summer, Michaud was excited to take his new wife to Arches National Park, and the two drove there in June. (Julie Jacobson | AP file photo) A Denver man has filed a $270 million wrongful death claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the National Park Service after a metal gate at Arches National Park collided collided with his car on June 13, killing his wife. Its still hard to concentrate, but I try to.. Esther Nakajjigo and her husband, Ludovic Michaud, pose at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. The administrative claim is a legally required precursor to a lawsuit, which is expected to be filed in about six months. The family of a human rights activist killed in a freak accident at Utah's Arches State Park won $10.5 million in damages from the U.S. government. All times AEDT (GMT +11). After seeing a pregnant 14-year-old girl die during a difficult delivery, Nakajjigo decided to use her college tuition money to start a nonprofit community health center that provided free reproductive health services to females aged 10-24. FILE - Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. Esther Nakajjigo died on June 13 after a metal gate swung into a car she and her husband were in and sliced het head off Credit: Handout. 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. Our mission is to make sure this doesnt happen again, the husband of Esther Nakajjigo told NBC News in an exclusive interview. This is not the first time a tragedy like this has happened. She added that the plaintiffs' assumption that Nakajjigo would have taken a salary "far in excess" of most nonprofit CEOs is "simply contrary to everything the court has heard about her," Berndt said. The ongoing trial will largely focus on determining the damages that may go to her family and Michaud. Mr Michaud and Ms Nakajjigos family have filed a lawsuit in a US court accusing the National Park Service of negligence, Fox 13 reports. Nakajjigo donated her own college fund to start a hospital, Berndt said; she raised money for charities and never took a salary. Donate to the newsroom now. The lawsuit alleges that a simple $8 padlock could have prevented the gate from swinging, and claims the park violated regulations. The family had initially sought a total of $270 million in damages, before lowering the amount to $140 -- while the government only wanted to pay $3.5 million. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her. It 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.. On June 13, she was needlessly decapitated by a metal gate that swung into the couples car as they were exiting the Arches parking lot on their way to go get ice cream, according to a wrongful death administrative claim exclusively obtained by NBC News. Opening arguments began Monday in Salt Lake City in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a 25-year-old women's rights activist from Uganda who was killed by a wind-blown gate during a camping trip to Arches National Park in June 2020. Ludovic Michaud, the husband of late human rights activist Esther Nakajjigo, has filed a $270 million wrongful death administrative claim against the National Park Service, according to a report by NBC News, following a June accident at Arches National Park near Moab. Attorneys for the government have not disputed that park officials are at fault but instead have disputed how much the family should be awarded. The familys lawyer Deborah Chang said the gate struck the car so suddenly and was so well blended into the surrounding landscape the honeymooning couple had no chance of avoiding it. "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 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. 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 . A lot of things remind me of her, Michaud told the Salt Lake Tribune. It impaled their car and decapitated Nakajjigo. 'Shadow pandemic': Women, girls bear unequal share of Covid-19 burden, U.N. official warns, National parks begin to reopen across the country. Trial begins in civil suit filed for accidental beheading death at Arches, National Park Service faces $270M wrongful death claim for death at Arches, 6 people arrested following drive-by shooting in Iron County, Man struck, killed by FrontRunner in Clearfield, Legislative wrap: Under-the-radar bills you may have missed on the last day of the session, Northern Utah man faces 30 felonies in child pornography case, 15-year-old boy dies after being found in crashed car with gunshot wounds, Pennsylvania unseals more court document details in Idaho killings, Provo River diverted as restoration project reaches 'major milestone', 1 killed when business jet encounters severe turbulence, Do not 'push a slower friend down' if you encounter a bear, National Park Service warns, CDC issues advisory after confirmed measles case in Kentucky, Police say man killed by Farmington officers had gun; victim's mom filed suit over other traffic stop, 27% of Utah students are chronically absent. "The show saw an audience of 6.3 million each week, and Nakajjigo was named Uganda's 'Young Personality of the Year,'" the Post reported. What if they had gone on a different day, or left at a different time? They were driving toward the exit when suddenly a gust of wind lifted a metal gate and the arm swung into the roadway. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur le lien Tableau de bord sur la vie prive prsent sur nos sites et dans nos applications. 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. They argued that had employees installed the gate properly and secured it with an $8 padlock, Nakajjigos death could have been prevented, 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, on Monday. He smiled at some points as he shared photos and memories of happier times affectionate birthday cards, silly nicknames, meals cooked together, the rose petals Nakajjigo arranged into the shape of a heart with an "I" and a "U" on either side. Attorney Randi McGinn, representing Nakajjigos family, on Monday asked the family to leave when he described the death in gruesome detail. Michaud said he and Nakajjigo were two weeks shy of closing on a condo when the accident occurred, with hopes of owning a house down the road. According to the official statement from Wilson Jaga, the communications head for the office of the Ugandan Women and Girls, Nakajjigo was hit by a metallic gate of the Arches National Park due. 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. McGinn argued that the smaller projections were based on categories of evaluation not allowed for under Utah law. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. Newlyweds Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, 25, and Ludovic "Ludo" Michaud, 26, were driving to get ice cream during a camping trip June 13 when a metal gate blew closed in strong winds and sliced . All rights reserved. Our mission is to make sure this doesnt happen again, Michaud said. 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. Ugandan newlywed Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was visiting Arches National Park in Utah in June 2020 when she was struck and killed by a metal pole attached to a traffic control gate. 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. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her. In their legal complaint, Michaud and Nakajjigos parents said the National Park Service was negligent for not maintaining the gate. 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. Judge Bruce Jenkins said he wants to "examine with care" all the information presented during the weeklong trial. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. Michaud's wife, Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was a celebrated human rights activist in her home country of Uganda. Elizabeth Chuck is a reporter for NBC News who focuses on health and mental health, particularly issues that affect women and children. Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah. 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. In his judgement, Jenkins said the government had provided a more reasonable projection of Nakajjigos earnings potential. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Nakajjigo's family sued the government for the largest federal award ever asked for in both state and national history, according to plaintiffs' attorney Randi McGinn, seeking $140 million in damages. The gate reportedly smashed through the side of the car and struck Nakajjigo . Itd be like me pointing a piece of paper to you on its most narrow side. I didnt know who she was at first, Michaud, 26, told NBC News in his first interview since Nakajjigos death.