Michaud and Nakajjigo met over a dating app while they both had recently arrived in the Denver area. Download the app . Her husband was not harmed, the station added. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. As they entered the park on June 13, high winds blew the park entrance gate, a swinging pole, back across the highway. Her husband was not harmed, the station added. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.olingerhampdenmortuary.com for the Nakajjigo family. What awaited them there was as awful as it was unthinkable. Michaud says he wants to keep her legacy going, but he also wants the gates at National Parks and forests across the U.S. to be safe for visitors. The Associated Press contributed to this report. I really wanted to show her Arches, he said, because I know all the parks around Moab It's one of my favorite places in the U.S., if not my favorite place.. Esther Nakajjigo Of Denver Decapitated By Gate :Family Files $270M Wrongful Death Claim Against Arches National Park [VIDEO] Trying To Figure Out How To Move Forward': Widower Of Denver Woman Decapitated By Gate At Arches National Park Struggles After Trauma I was a couple of inches from dying, but I didnt, and right now I have a mission: Its to make sure what shes done continues.. Illinois highway pile-up causes multiple deaths, police say, Trump motion to declare mistrial in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit denied, Transgender Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr sues over censure, Debt ceiling standoff heats up over veterans' programs, U.S. tracking high-altitude balloon first spotted off Hawaii, Biden administration ending vaccine mandate for federal workers, travelers, The weirdest items passengers leave behind in Ubers. For this work, the United Nations Population Fund gave her the Woman Achiever Award. IE 11 is not supported. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The pole gate pierced the passenger compartment of the couple's rental car, a Chevy Malibu, and decapitated Esther. The trip to the wind-weathered sandstone of Arches National Park was supposed to be a celebration a chance for Ludovic Michaud, of Denver, to show his new wife one of his favorite landmarks. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Nominate Someone for a FOX 13 Dream Team Surprise! IE 11 is not supported. Michaud, who hails from France, told the station during his first interview since his wifes death that he just saw her as a smart person who loved to laugh.. The claim, served Oct. 22, is seeking more than $270 million in damages from the National Park Service. Michaud and Nakajjigo had been married for just under three months when they decided to go see the Arches. It claims three other people have died from similar incidents involving gates in the last 32 years. They said you have to lock it or its going to impale a car, so everyone knows, Chang said. Nakajjigo and her husband Ludovic Michaud were vacationing in eastern Utah, visiting the region's national parks months after their wedding. One, Saving Innocence, depicted teenage girls from urban areas helping teen moms in rural communities go back to school. Powered by, according to a wrongful death administrative claim obtained by NBC News, Famous Rappers Brother Dies From Apparent Suicide. 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.". Esther Nakajjigo, a native of Uganda, accomplished more at age 25 than most do in a lifetime. She rose from poverty to become the host of a solutions-oriented reality television series in Uganda focused on empowering women on issues such as education and healthcare, and had successfully raised funds to build health care facilities in her hometown. Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was driving around the stunning Arches National Park in Utah, US, in 2020 along with her husband Ludovic Michaud when the unthinkable happened. 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. I didnt know who she was at first, Michaud, 26, told NBC News in his first interview since Nakajjigos death. I had a ton of flashbacks. Nakajjigo was a celebrated human rights activist in Uganda, her home country, Moab Sun News continued. 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. Nakajjigo also created a reality television show in Uganda focused on helping teenage mothers stay in school and learn life skills. Shes done more at the age of 25 than most people do in their entire lives, she said. 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. Nakajjigos family and friends in Uganda started a petition to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Ministry of Health in the country to make an exception for the young activist, the newspaper continued. The metal gate at Arches National Park, normally secured with a lock, was left untethered. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The wind whipped a metal. "I went from the best time of my life to the worst, in one second," he said. The couple hiked to Delicate Arch and ate lunch in the Windows area before starting their drive out of the park. Esther Nakajjigo, a 25-year-old Ugandan human rights activist, was killed in a horrific accident at Arches National Park on June 13, 2020. The amount was far less than the $140 million Nakajjigos family originally sought. 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 By SAM METZ Associated Press January 31, 2023, 11:37 AM 2:19 National headlines from ABC News Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. The suit was filed last . Esther Nakajjigo, a native of Uganda, accomplished more at age 25 than most do in a lifetime. FOX 13 reported earlier this year how Nakajjigo died June 13, 2020. At just 17, using her college tuition money, she created a nonprofit community health center. "It could have happened to the people in front of us, or behind us," he said. During the trials opening statements in December, Nakajjigo was described as a pearl beyond price with limitless potential, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. 'Shadow pandemic': Women, girls bear unequal share of Covid-19 burden, U.N. official warns, National parks begin to reopen across the country. Throughout the trial, attorneys debated estimates of Nakajjigos earnings potential. On Monday, a federal judge in Utah . She was always willing to help, he said. Esther Nakajjigo and Ludovic Michaud at Arches National Park in eastern Utah. First published on December 6, 2022 / 9:23 AM. After COVID-19 closures were lifted, the newlyweds took a trip to Arches National Park. But when she met Michaud in June 2019 in Aurora, Colorado, through a dating app, he just saw her as a smart person who loved to laugh. Wilson Jaga, head of communications for the Office of Ugandas Ambassador for Women and Girls, advocated for her return in a statement obtained by the outlet, writing: We have also petitioned the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda requesting that H. E. Esther Nakajjigos short lived but very instrumental life be celebrated and Essie accorded a State Funeral as a symbol of recognition of small interventions made by young people to make their country a great nation. Nakajjigo created a reality TV show that helped child mothers stay in school and develop life skills, according to The Denver Post. ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, Utah - Trial began Monday, Dec. 5 for the death of Ugandan women's activist Esther Nakajjigo, who died after a gate at Arches National Park swung open and decapitated her.The family is in federal court with a $140million-dollar wrongful lawsuit and personal claim lawsuit against the National Park Service.The U.S. already admitted responsibility for the wrongful death . Nakajjigo was a performer who used her celebrity to improve the status of women and girls in Uganda. I found her really interesting. Nakajjigo's younger brother John, who traveled from Uganda to the U.S. to be at the trial, told KUTV that life without his sister has been extremely tough, but he is grateful for the opportunity to be at the trial and also meet Nakajjigo's husband for the first time. Michaud's wife, Esther Nakajjigo, 25, was a celebrated human rights activist in her home country of Uganda. Arches National Park is best known for its pristine sandstone arches and its massive red Delicate Arch, which has featured in countless Instagram photos.. On October 22, Michaud filed a wrongful death claim against the US National Parks Service seeking . 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