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 . 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. 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. 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. "I'm doing whatever I can to get better. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. First published on November 12, 2020 / 2:34 PM. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Michaud's wife, Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was a celebrated human rights activist in her home country of Uganda. 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. John Ssenkindu, Esther's brother, told journalists that her sister was hit by a metallic gate of the Arches National Park in the US . What if he hadn't suggested the trip. For this work, the United Nations Population Fund gave her the Woman Achiever Award. But on Friday, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nelson tried to give Michaud some peace of mind. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death 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. 72 Join Insider . Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. 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. "We respect the judges decision and hope this award will help her loved ones as they continue to heal for this tragedy," added the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah. Ms Nakajjigos husband said his wifes death was the worst thing I hope I will ever see. The amount was far less than the $140 million Nakajjigos family originally sought. 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.. National Park Service faces $270M wrongful death claim - USA TODAY Photo: Esther Nakajjigo/Twitter. But now, Michaud said, he returns to an apartment that doesn't feel like a home. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. 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. Recreation areas had recently opened after pandemic-era closures and . The family says under federal park rules, similar gates should be secured, but the gate that struck Ms Nakajjigo had been unlatched for weeks, Fox 13 reports. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan activist who'd moved to Colorado in 2019 to attend the Watson Institute in Boulder, died June 13, 2020, while visiting the park with her husband of two Seven people have been rushed to hospital after severe turbulence on a flight led to an emergency landing. Though the amount was substantially less than pursued, attorneys representing the family of Esther Nakajjigo celebrated the judgment, saying it was the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah history. But an attorney for her parents and husband said they were grateful for the judgment, which represents the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah history, the Associated Press reported. 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 newlywed Denver couple's road trip to Arches National Park in Utah this summer ended in . Nakajjigo, who went by Essie, was a womens rights champion in Uganda. Esther Nakajjigo (credit: Ludovic Michaud). I found her really interesting. 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. 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. The family are arguing that the US Park Service was negligent and did not properly maintain the gates at the entrances and exits to the parks, leading to their loved one's death. 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. 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. ", 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. In their legal complaint, Michaud and Nakajjigos parents said the National Park Service was negligent for not maintaining the gate. Updated: Jan 31, 2023 / 03:49 PM MST. National parks begin to reopen across the country. Its a fear of erasing her, I guess, when you use something that she bought or that she ate or that we did together.. According to the claim, Michaud, of Denver, and Nakajjigo, a womens rights proponent from Uganda, were exiting the Arches parking lot on June 13 when a metal gate on the entrance road near the visitors center swung into the couples car, causing Nakajigo to be needlessly decapitated.. 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.. Fox13 reports the metal. Ms McGinn described Nakajjigo as a prominent womens rights activist who rose from poverty to become the host of a solutions-oriented reality television series in Uganda focused on empowering women around issues such as education and healthcare. 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. 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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. 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. 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. Instead, Michaud met his wife's family -- who traveled to the States from Uganda -- for the first time just before the trial started. FILE - Delicate Arch is seen at Arches National Park on April 25, 2021, near Moab, Utah. The. Additionally, Berndt said the plaintiffs can only speculate on what Nakajjigo might have done had she lived, and the court can't ignore that "in favor of dreams and potential.". In his judgement, Jenkins said the government had provided a more reasonable projection of Nakajjigos earnings potential. Judge Bruce Jenkins said he wants to "examine with care" all the information presented during the weeklong trial. Mail that Nakajjigo has continued to receive after her death has been a stark reminder of the life they should still be enjoying together. In court, Michaud described his relationship with Nakajjigo as the best time of his life., It feels lonely, and thats hard. We dont know with any level of certainty what her plans were, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nelson said. The end of that trial came Monday, but a verdict is still pending. It impaled their car and decapitated Nakajjigo. 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. $10.5 million awarded to family of Denver woman killed at Arches The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a . Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death They stipulate, however, that the plaintiffs should be awarded $22,508 for Nakajjigo's funeral expenses and $5,000 for Michaud's therapy expenses. 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. But on June 13, she and her husband needed a break from quarantine and headed toward Arches National Park in Utah. 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. For this work, the United Nations Population Fund gave her the Woman Achiever Award. I really wanted to show her Arches, he told Fox 13. They had a courthouse ceremony in March, with plans to throw a big wedding in Uganda once it was safe to travel again. You wouldnt able to detect it or see it.. What happened during the 2023 Utah Legislature. "On behalf of the family, we are very appreciative of the judge's attention to detail, the time he spent working on this, and for the value he put on the loss to this family of Essie," added Littlepage. A lot of things remind me of her, Michaud told the. 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. But an attorney for her parents and husband said they were grateful for the judgment, which represents the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah history. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. I didnt know who she was at first, Michaud, 26, told NBC News in his first interview since Nakajjigos death. The United Nations Population Fund awarded her a Woman Achiever Award," the claim states. Woman's decapitation at Arches National Park leads to $270M wrongful There is a lot of small things I miss.. 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. Elizabeth Chuck is a reporter for NBC News who focuses on health and mental health, particularly issues that affect women and children. Woman decapitated by metal gate in front of her horrified husband in Yet park employees could have done a lot, the claim alleges, including taking note during inspections of the gate that it posed a danger and putting an inexpensive padlock on it. afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. What if he hadn't suggested the trip to Arches? Later, his chin trembled as Nelson delivered the government's apology. 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. Nakajjigo donated her own college fund to start a hospital, Berndt said; she raised money for charities and never took a salary. Its still hard to concentrate, but I try to.. Trial begins Ugandan woman's death in Arches National Park | 9news.com At age 17, Nakajjigo. Itd be like me pointing a piece of paper to you on its most narrow side. Esther Nakajjigo was a prominent Ugandan human rights activist who was killed in Utah's Arches National Park in 2020. This is not the first time a tragedy like this has happened. 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.. 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. Everything reminds Michaud of Nakajjigo. Cruise staffer fired after shock bathroom act, Passengers injured as turbulence rocks plane. The family of a woman beheaded by a metal gate in front of her husband at a national park has launched a lawsuit for $140million (115m). 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. In their legal complaint, Michaud and Nakajjigos parents said the National Park Service was negligent for not maintaining the gate. On Monday, a federal judge in Utah ruled that the. Esther Nakajjigo beheaded by gate at Utah's Arches National Park | news An activist's dreams 'were about to come true.' Then, a horrific Nakajjigo was. 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. 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. Denver7's Lance Hernandez reports. The wind whipped a metal. She was also awarded a full scholarship from the king of Buganda. 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. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death Nakajjigo created a reality TV show that helped child mothers stay in school and develop life skills, according to The Denver Post. This photo was taken in the hours before a gate swung into the couple's car, killing Nakajjigo. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. . All times AEDT (GMT +11). 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. $140M trial begins over death of Ugandan woman killed in Utah park One, Saving Innocence, depicted teenage girls from urban areas helping teen moms in rural communities go back to school. Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo's husband and parents initially filed a $270 million claim against the National Park Service in 2021 over her death 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. Ugandan activist's family awarded $10.5M for Utah park death in the two-plus years since his wife, Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, was hit and killed by an unsecured gate while the couple was leaving Arches National Park. 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. Courtesy of. Family of Woman Decapitated by Swinging Gate at State Park Awarded $10. At age 17, she used her college tuition money to start a nonprofit community health center, which provided free reproductive health services to young women and girls. All this building towards the $140million in damages. Pour en savoir plus sur la faon dont nous utilisons vos donnes personnelles, veuillez consulter notre politique relative la vie prive et notre politique en matire de cookies. Her mother flew to Utah from Uganda to attend the trial this week. Esther Nakajjigo was decapitated at Arches National Park in Utah after wind swung an untethered metal gate into her car, killing her immediately as her husband sat in the seat next to her. By age 25, when she died, she had accomplished more than most people do in an entire lifetime and had much more to do with her life, court documents state. Though the amount was substantially less than pursued, attorneys representing the family of Esther Nakajjigo celebrated the judgement . 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. Here's what lawmakers have directed schools to do, Can't take statins? US attorneys have said this claim was too speculative to be used as a basis for damages. Michaud was not injured in the accident, but he was covered head-to-toe in his wifes blood. Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. (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. 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. I know all the parks around Moab Its one of my favourite places in the US, if not my favourite place.. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Courtesy Ludovic Michaud Nakajjigo. 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. What awaited them there was as awful as it was unthinkable. At just 17, using her college tuition money, she created a nonprofit community health center. According to Deborah Chang, the Los Angeles-based trial attorney representing Michaud, there was nothing he could have done to swerve out of the way of the gate that killed his wife and narrowly missed him. Nakajjigo received numerous international accolades and awards and 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, Colorado, where she was the recipient of a Luff Peace Fellowship. 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 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. Attorneys representing the U.S. commended her work, yet noted her most recent job was working at a restaurant making $15 per hour. All rights reserved. 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. / CBS Colorado. 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. At age 17, Nakajjigo was recognized by the United Nations for her work for women, according to the claim. Family of Ugandan activist who was decapitated at UT national park gets 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. 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. "For want of an $8 basic padlock, our world lost an extraordinary warrior for good," the claim continues. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. The gate narrowly avoided Michaud, who was left covered head to toe in his wife's blood. Mr Michaud and Ms Nakajjigos family have filed a lawsuit in a US court accusing the National Park Service of negligence, Fox 13 reports. The last thing she said to him was, "Babe, I had the best time of my life." A cruise employee has had his contract terminated after he was allegedly seen filming women from a female bathroom. Twist after newlywed decapitated by gate at national park - Yahoo! 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. 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. 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. The gate narrowly missed Michaud, who was driving.