BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Colorado’s Ethiopian community comes together for family of 6-year-old killed at amusement park

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) — When the Colorado Ethiopian Community learned that one of their own, 6-year-old Wongel Estifanos, had died in a tragic accident at a Glenwood Springs amusement park, they immediately came together.

The Ethiopian community in Colorado Springs is small but very tight-knit.

Daniel Abdella, with the Colorado Ethiopian Community organization, said he visited with the family last night.

“Oh, it’s devastating for them. They are shocked, you know. An unexpected tragedy for them. They are young people. It is really sad. I see the dad and the family. All the community has broken hearts,” Abdella said.

Estifanos was killed on the Haunted Mine Drop at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park earlier this week.

It’s believed she was on a family vacation when the unthinkable happened.

Samuel Gebremichael, chair of the Colorado Ethiopian Community organization, said he has met the family in the past.

“It’s hard to comfort them. They lost the best thing that they have. When your kids go away from you, you can’t let it go easily,” Gebremichael said.

Gebremichael said the Ethiopian community in Colorado is tight-knit. Many families have migrated here for nearly 30 years. When tragedies strike, they comfort families through a thousand-year-old tradition called Edir.

“So what they do is we collect money every time to help,” Abdella said.

The family and friends will now mourn together for at least three to four days. Many of these families, thousands of miles from Ethiopia, are now finding comfort in each other.

On Thursday, there were many people at Estifano’s home. An uncle told NewsNation affiliate KDVR the family is not ready to talk at this time.

West

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241202111905

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Partly Cloudy

la

51°F Partly Cloudy Feels like 51°
Wind
1 mph NW
Humidity
85%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Areas of fog. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
50°F Areas of fog. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph ENE
Precip
4%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waxing Crescent