ALTOONA, Iowa — “My son’s blood is on your hands,” said David Jaramillo.

The family that lost one of their sons on a ride at Adventureland has now filed a lawsuit against the park’s former owners.

Read the Jaramillo family’s lawsuit

On July 3rd of 2021, the Jaramillo family of Marion was on the Raging River ride when their boat flipped over. Michael Jaramillo, 11, died the following day after being removed from life support. His older brother and his father suffered serious injuries in the incident.

“Yeah they were reaching for us, reaching for each other trying to get out of the situation we were in,” said Jaramillo as he described the last time he saw his son Michael alive.

“I wasn’t there. When I got out of the water I wasn’t there to help him and protect him,” said Sabrina Jaramillo, Michael’s mother, as she recalled the horrible events of that day.

The lawsuit said the previous owners were negligent, alleging the ride was not properly maintained, staff was not trained on the ride, and no employees helped when the boat flipped.

Four and a half months after the death of Michael Jaramillo, inspectors with the Iowa Division of Labor released a report revealing 17 violations that were present on the Raging River on the day of the accident.

“You get angry because it is like you find more, you find more, you find more,” said David Jaramillo. “You got to be kidding me. Is this a movie? Is this real? Can there be that many mistakes?”

The suit is against former owners Adventure Land and its former CEO Michael J. Krantz. Krantz’s attorney put out a statement today on the lawsuit being filed.

“The numerous allegations of the lawsuit will be specifically addressed in court. Importantly, allegations are not facts. For nearly 40 years each Adventureland ride has undergone a detailed annual safety inspections by the State of Iowa and rigorous daily inspections by park maintenance and ride operators. This includes the Raging River ride. The tragic Jaramillo accident was the result of a number of extraordinarily unusual factors coming together. Safety is, and always been, the number one priority at Adventureland.”

Guy Cook, Attorney

The park was sold last year to Palace Entertainment, which is not named in the suit.

The Raging River ride remains closed. And the family wants the ride to be shut down forever.

“I think the ride should be gone,” said David Jaramillo.