Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday following a more than $116 million wrongful death judgment last year tied to the 2021 death of 6-year-old Wongel Estifanos.

The company that owns and operates the mountaintop amusement park, Glenwood Caverns Holdings LLC, filed for Chapter 11 on Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The move comes months after a Garfield County jury found the park partially responsible for Wongel’s death after she fell from the Haunted Mine Drop ride, now known as the Crystal Tower, in 2021.

The Haunted Mine Drop ride was closed after the 2021 death and later reopened in June 2023 with redesigned safety features and under a new name, Crystal Tower.

A final judgment entered in November totaled more than $116 million against the company. Court filings say the park carries about $5 million in liability insurance, far short of the judgment amount.

A jury initially awarded more $205 million in combined damages following the 2025 trial, but post-trial rulings reduced the final judgment entered against Glenwood Caverns to just over $116 million. A separate judgment of about $58 million was entered against ride manufacturer Soaring Eagle, while two ride operators were ordered to pay $11,600 and $110,700 respectively.

In a statement Tuesday, Glenwood Caverns confirmed the bankruptcy filing and said the park will continue operating.

“Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware today following the recent judgment against it stemming from a tragic incident that occurred there in 2021,” the park said. “The Chapter 11 process will allow Glenwood Caverns to continue operating while creating a structured, court-supervised process that ensures fairness and transparency as it pursues reorganization.”

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to keep operating while reorganizing its finances under court supervision and pausing most collection efforts from creditors.

The park acknowledged the Estifanos family in its statement and said the filing is intended to stabilize the business.

“We recognize the unimaginable loss of the Estifanos family,” the statement said. “Our decision to pursue Chapter 11 is the most responsible path to stabilize the business, preserve operations and maintain the value for the benefit of all parties.”

Park officials said day-to-day operations and scheduled events will continue as normal.

“The park will continue to operate as usual, with no impact to day-to-day operations or scheduled events,” the statement said.

Court filings show the company reported between $10 million and $50 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities. The park’s primary funded debt totals about $12.7 million and is owed to Community Banks of Colorado, a division of NBH Bank.

The park employs more than 100 year-round workers and expands to roughly 250 employees during the summer tourist season, making it one of the larger employers in Glenwood Springs. Company filings state that enforcing the judgment outside bankruptcy could force the park to shut down and eliminate jobs.

Representatives for Glenwood Caverns did not respond to additional questions about potential layoffs, temporary closures or whether the filing could impact Iron Mountain Hot Springs.

The Dan Caplis Law Firm, which represents Wongel Estifanos’ family, said the bankruptcy filing was not unexpected and will likely delay the case’s final resolution.

“They had threatened that they might declare bankruptcy following a trial,” attorney Dan Caplis said. “We’re not surprised that they have taken that step.”

Caplis said the filing now forces the family into another legal process and could delay any final outcome.

“It affects them in the sense that it’s another legal process that Glenwood Caverns is now forcing them to go through before this matter is resolved,” he said. “This process will delay things.”

He said Wongel’s parents plan to continue pushing for accountability and safety improvements.

“We’re prepared to represent them very vigorously in this bankruptcy process and to get the full truth out there, just as we did in the trial,” Caplis said. “The parents will keep fighting just to make that park and that industry as safe as it can be.”

In a written statement, the Dan Caplis Law Firm said Wongel’s parents believe the bankruptcy filing is “just another maneuver by the out-of-state company that owns the Caverns to avoid responsibility for the felonious killing of Wongel” but remain hopeful that “a better and safer version of the amusement park will emerge from bankruptcy.”

This story was originally published in Post Independent.