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. "I've always wanted to meet him, though not in this way," he said. She said there was nothing that visually set them apart. Nakajjigo, who went by Essie, was a women's rights champion in Uganda. He said he didn't deny Nakajjigo was an extraordinary person, but argued it was difficult to speculate what kind of work she would have gone on to do. Michaud, from France, took a job at a start-up. Ugandan activist, 25, decapitated by gate in Utah's Arches National Nakajjigo worked on fundraising to open a hospital in an underserved part of Kampala, Uganda's capital, became a philanthropic celebrity and immigrated to the United States for a fellowship at the Boulder, Colorado-based Watson Institute for emerging leaders. She really loved the Denver vibe and so do I. There is a lot of small things I miss.. Of the accidents aftermath, Michaud told FOX 13: I saw the worst thing I hope I will ever see.. 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. FOX 13 Investigates: Family sues over death of woman killed in Arches Family of woman killed by gate at Arches National Park awarded $10.2M Esther Nakajjigo, a Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in Arches National Park in Utah on June 13, 2020. 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. United States attorneys do not dispute that park officials shouldered blame, but argued the amount the family should be awarded is far less and called into questions the ways in which the damages being sought were calculated. On Monday, a federal judge in Utah ruled that the U.S. government must pay her family more than $10 million in damages. Please enter valid email address to continue. She met Michaud on Tinder in 2019, when she was attending a leadership program in Boulder, Colorado. I had a ton of flashbacks. Esther Nakajjigo was exiting the park June 13 when the sharp end of a freely swinging gate pierced her car, killing Nakajjigo and narrowly missing her husband. The plaintiffs contend multiple federal policies require such gates to be secured, but that the gate near the visitors center at Arches was unlatched for two weeks before it struck Nakajjigo. The couple hiked to Delicate Arch and ate lunch in the Windows area before starting their drive out of the park. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Download the app . Woman decapitated by metal gate in front of her horrified husband in Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. Its a fear of erasing her, I guess, when you use something that she bought or that she ate or that we did together.. Members get 15+ publications right in your pocket. Trial begins two years after newlywed was beheaded by metal gate at It argues that park employees only needed to install the gate with an $8 padlock to prevent it from killing a young woman influencer destined to become our societys future Princess Diana, Philanthropist Melinda Gates, or Oprah Winfrey, NBC News said. Nakajjigo, who was 25 at the time, was needlessly decapitated, according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News. Michaud and Nakajjigo had been married for just under three months when they decided to go see the Arches. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. A National Park Service spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday. He filed his claim October 22. She served as an ambassador for women and girls in her native Uganda, and created a reality TV show to combat early pregnancy and forced marriage. At just 17, using her college tuition money, she created a nonprofit community health center. This photo was taken in the hours before a gate swung into the couple's car, killing Nakajjigo. Nakajjigo, who was 25 at the time, was "needlessly decapitated," according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News. Esther was born April 16, 1995. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. The metal gate at Arches National Park, normally secured with a lock, was left untethered. Im still trying to figure out how to move forward, how to wake up in the morning., What he saw and experienced that day, I cannot even imagine, said Deborah Chang, an attorney representing Michaud and the Nakajjigo family. Throughout the trial, attorneys debated estimates of Nakajjigos earnings potential. The organization was tailored toward reducing the risk of teenage pregnancy among teens. 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 the gates at the entrances and exits to the parks, leading to Nakajjigo's death. 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. What it means to be a woman in the world's largest refugee settlement..it means you don't own anything not even your body. The park service previously issued a statement expressing sympathy to Nakajjigos family. We loved getting out and going to beautiful places, Michaud said. Our mission is to make sure this doesnt happen again, the husband of Esther Nakajjigo told NBC News in an exclusive interview. 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 couple's car, decapitating Nakajjigo as her husband sat feet away in the driver's seat. The gate was owned by the United States government and anchored on government property., READ NEXT: Famous Rappers Brother Dies From Apparent Suicide, Esther Nakajjigo: Uganda Activist Decapitated in Utah National Park, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Nakajjigo was a celebrated human rights activist in Uganda, her home country, Moab Sun News continued. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. He didnt know Nakajjigo had a massive following in her native Uganda. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Trial begins for Ugandan death in Arches National Park Nakajjigo, who was 25, lived with her husband in Denver, where she moved to attend a leadership course on a full scholarship. An activist's dreams 'were about to come true.' Then, a horrific Family of Woman Killed at Arches National Park Awarded $10.5M Nakajjigo was involved in countless philanthropic endeavors. 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. The family's lawsuit claims when the national parks reopened in April 2020 after being shuttered due to COVID-19, rangers at the national park in Utah didn't 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.". CBS News Poll: How GOP primary race could be Trump v. Trump fatigue. The ruling was. Because neither the U.S. nor Nakajjigo's family disputed the facts of the case, the civil suit focused largely on the amount of damages merited. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Theres a newsletter that went out to all the parks and the National Park Service that warned of this decades ago. Esther Nakajjigo (credit: Ludovic Michaud). The same year, Nakajjigo was named Uganda's ambassador for women and girls. In June, the couple needed a break from quarantine, so they drove to Utah. Ludovic said he knows the suit won't bring his beloved wife back, but he wants to make sure the same type of tragic accident doesn't happen to anyone else. Posted at 10:15 PM, Nov 12, 2020 Chang filed the paperwork notifying the National Park Service that a lawsuit will be filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, seeking damages for Ludovic, and for Nakajjigo's mother and father. What awaited them there was as awful as it was unthinkable. The horror of Nakajjigo's death is one reason Michaud has filed a claim with the National Park Service seeking $270 million. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020.