Iowa amusement park’s former owner settles lawsuit over 11-year-old’s drowning

An Iowa amusement park’s former operator has agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of an 11-year-old boy who drowned on a water ride in 2021.

A company that previously owned Adventureland park in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona, along with its former CEO and three managers, reached a settlement with the family of Michael Jaramillo on Sunday. Jury selection had been scheduled to start Monday for a trial over the lawsuit brought by the family. The settlement terms are confidential.

Michael Jaramillo, his parents, two brothers and another family member were strapped into a 1,700-pound (770-kilogram) raft on the Raging River ride on July 3, 2021, when it flipped over. All six hit their heads on the surface under the water, but Michael Jaramillo and one of his brothers could not get out of their seatbelts and were trapped, head-down, underwater for about 10 minutes, according to the family.

The lawsuit alleged that for years, Adventureland failed to properly maintain and repair its rides, including the Raging River. It also said the park continued to operate the water ride on the day of the accident despite reports of serious problems.

The park’s former owner, Adventure Lands of America, former CEO Michael Krantz, and the three managers, denied that the ride had been operated improperly or insufficiently supervised. But Fred Dorr, an attorney for the family, said Tuesday that their lawyers believe they built a strong case that the park and its employees were responsible.

“Imagine the terror going on in those kids’ minds,” Dorr said. “And then you turn to the jury and say, ‘What’s that worth, to watch your child die like that?”

An attorney for Adventure Lands of America did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment Tuesday. However, in answering the lawsuit, the defendants said the accident resulted from “a series of unexpected and intended factors” and that, in the 38 years the ride operated before the accident, no raft had overturned.

Krantz is a member of a Des Moines-area family that began operating Adventureland in the 1970s and sold it and other affiliated assets months after the accident to the subsidiary of an international amusement park company based in Spain.

In March, Herschend, a company based in the Atlanta area, purchased the Spanish company’s U.S. properties, including Adventureland. Herschend operates the Dollywood theme park in Tennessee and Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri.