Judge moves Adventureland Park wrongful death trial back to Polk County

A judge has moved a wrongful-death civil trial back to Polk County in a lawsuit against Adventureland Park for a water raft ride that flipped and killed an 11-year-old boy and seriously injured his 15-year-old brother as a family then from Marion was visiting the park in Altoona.

Fifth Judicial District Judge Paul Scott had moved the trial to Scott County in 2023 because of “pervasive and inflammatory” pretrial publicity.

Last week, a different judge, Patrick Smith, moved the trial back to Polk County, ruling enough time has passed between the news coverage and trial as to “dissipate any prejudicial effect” caused by the articles and reports. Most of those articles the court relied on back in 2023 were from 2021 and 2022, according to his March 28 ruling.

David Jaramillo Sr. and his wife, Sabrina Jaramillo, of Cedar Rapids and formerly of Marion — parents of 11-year-old Michael Jaramillo who died in July 2021 on the water raft ride — argued the passage of time has dissipated whatever prejudice existed.

However, Adventureland argued the “inflammatory” news articles, which included video and audio, remain available and accessible on the internet, which makes it less likely the prejudice doesn’t still exist among potential jurors.

Smith said Adventureland identified eight articles published since December 2023, asserting the prejudice continues to exist. But the eight articles alone are insufficient to create a presumption of prejudice, the judge said in the ruling.

He concluded the publicity the court relied on to move the trial to Scott County in 2023 “cannot be considered anything but stale.” The court can’t presume prejudice without giving each side the opportunity to question the potential jurors, which happens during jury selection, he added.

The trial will remain set on the trial calendar in Scott County on June 2, in case there is pretrial publicity before trial that again would move it out of Polk Count, Smith ruled.

Lawsuit claims

According to the lawsuit, the parents of Michael Jaramillo contend their children were trapped underwater when the 1,700-pound Raging River raft suddenly flipped their entire family underwater on July 3, 2021.

Michael and David Jr., 15, remained trapped underwater for more than five minutes as rescue attempts by the injured parents were unsuccessful, the suit stated.

Adventureland continued to operate the ride despite the parents screaming and the overturned raft, forcing “thousands of pounds” of water down the river chute and releasing additional rafts as the children remained trapped, the lawsuit asserts.

People nearby who heard the Jaramillos screaming came to help the family — including a woman in a passing raft who jumped in to assist — and eventually pulled the boys from under water. Nobody from Adventureland came to help, the lawsuit contends.

The suit states the amusement park has failed to properly maintain and repair its attractions, including the Raging River ride, for years. The ride continued to operate that day despite there having been serious problems with rafts striking the bottom of the ride, air bladders within the rafts deflating and mechanical equipment failures, according to the suit.

The park was sold to Palace Entertainment after the boy’s death, and Bill Lentz, Adventureland’s general manager, remained in that position for the new owner. The Raging River ride was permanently closed, Lentz said in a letter posted on the park’s website in 2023.

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