Esther Nakajjigo: Trial starts for woman decapitated by metal gate in Utah National Park as family seeks $140M

The husband and family of a lady who died at a national park in Utah are suing the US government for $140 million in damages, more than two years after the woman's death. Esther Nakajjigo, an actress and singer from Uganda, was killed by a metal gate that swung through the car's passenger door while Ludovic Michaud and his newlywed wife, Esther Nakajjigo, were driving through Arches National Park on a windy spring day in 2020, according to the New York Post. [caption id="attachment_69574" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Ludovic Michaud and his wife Esther Nakajjigo[/caption] The civil trial began on Monday, December 5 with opening remarks from Michaud and Nakajjigo's family's attorneys. They claim that Nakajjigo died as a result of the US Park Service's failure to maintain the gates at the parks' entrances and exits. “She was one in a billion, Your Honor,” attorney Randi McGinn told the judge. “She had like a tremendous potential,” Michaud told the TV station of his late wife. “She could lift mountains, basically, in her own way. I don’t want this incident to reproduce itself ever again," as per the news outlet. The US attorneys concur that park officials are at fault, but they contend the family should receive much less money—$3.5 million—and they raise concerns about the procedures used to calculate the damages demanded. According to McGinn, "if Nakajjigo's life hadn't been cut short, she would have continued on to become the CEO of a non-profit organization and could have eventually earned an annual income in the hundreds of thousands or millions", according to the New York Post. [caption id="attachment_69576" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] File photo of Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. A wrongful death lawsuit is underway after Esther Nakajjigo was killed by a metal gate there in spring 2020. (iStock)[/caption] The 120 square-mile desert region that makes up Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, receives more than 1.5 million visitors each year. It is well-known for a group of sculpture-like fins and arches that wind and water carved out of an orange sandstone over many years. The judge is expected to render his decision in the upcoming weeks. Esther Nakajjigo was "needlessly beheaded" on June 13, 2020, when a metal gate swung into the couple's car as they were leaving the Arches parking lot on their way to get ice cream, according to a wrongful death administrative claim that NBC News exclusively received.

Who was Esther Nakajjigo?

Nakajjigo, often referred to as Essie, was a Ugandan supporter of women's rights. She started a nonprofit community health clinic at the age of 17 with the money she had set up for education. In the same year, Nakajjigo was named Uganda's ambassador for women and girls. Given her dedication to reducing teenage pregnancies, she created two reality television shows that empowered women. One, titled "Saving Innocence," involved young urban women encouraging young mothers in rural areas to enroll in school. Nakajjigo, who has received numerous honors and awards from all over the world, came to the United States to further her education. She participated in programs at Drexel University in Philadelphia while there as a Mandela Washington Fellow. According to NBC News, she also received a Luff Peace Fellowship from the Watson Institute in Boulder, Colorado.