The family of an Ugandan woman from Denver who was killed by a swinging gate in Arches National Park was awarded $10.5 million on Monday.
Esther Nakajjigo, 25, died on June 13, 2020 when she, along with her new husband Ludovic Michaud, visited Utah. They married about three months prior. One of the Denver couple's stops was Arches National Park near Moab. As they entered, high winds blew the park entrance gate — a swinging pole — back across the highway. It pierced the passenger compartment of the couple's rental car, a Chevy Malibu, and decapitated Esther.
Michaud's attorney Deborah Chang told Denver7 that the entrance gate should have been locked open, and not allowed to swing freely. She also said it should have been installed to swing inwards for incoming traffic, not outwards. She said Michaud escaped death by mere inches. According to the Associated Press, the amount awarded to Nakajjigo's husband and parents was substantially less than attorneys pursued, yet they celebrated it and said it was the largest federal wrongful death award in Utah history.
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