Girl Dies After Go-Kart Crash at Trampoline Adventure Park

On December 6, 2025, six-year-old Emma Riddle was enjoying a day out at Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Emma was riding a go-kart at the park when she was critically injured. She was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Pierce, but she tragically died from her injuries the following day.

Urban Air offers trampolines, go-karts, bumper cars, zip lines, laser tag, and other attractions. Just before 9pm on December 6th, first responders were called to the facility for reports of a go-kart crash involving a child. The unidentified caller said the child was incoherent and possibly bleeding from her nose or mouth following the collision. Paramedics responded to the scene and Emma was airlifted to the hospital. At the time of this writing, the police department had not yet released detailed information about the cause of the collision or Emma’s injuries.

While not official statements by authorities, eyewitnesses said they were concerned about previous non-fatal accidents and a possible lack of staff oversight on the go-kart track. Go-karting falls under Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services classification for amusement devices, which means investigations involve multiple agencies.

Legal claims from child’s go-kart death

Emma’s family has not yet filed a lawsuit. However, similar tragedies and injuries at amusement and trampoline parks often give rise to wrongful death and personal injury claims under well-established legal principles.

Negligence and premises liability

To be successful in a negligence claim, the plaintiff (injured person or their representative) must prove these elements:

Duty: The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care. In this instance, it would be that the amusement venue was responsible for keeping customers reasonably safe.
Breach: The park breached the duty of care by failing to maintain safe conditions or adequate supervision.
Causation: The breach was the direct cause of Emma’s fatal injuries.
Damages: The family suffered a financial loss, which could include medical and funeral costs, loss of companionship, and emotional distress.

Trampoline parks and similar recreational facilities are expected to warn visitors of known hazards, train staff to supervise attractions safely, and properly maintain equipment. Failure of staff to intervene during an unsafe activity, or poorly maintained equipment, could form the basis for negligence.

Liability despite waivers

If you’ve ever been to any amusement park or entertainment venue, you were likely asked to sign a liability waiver, either for yourself or for your child. Typically, a liability waiver does not bar a legal claim if the injury or death was the result of gross negligence—which would include inadequate staffing or recklessly unsafe conditions. In those instances, the court might conclude that a waiver does not absolve the park of liability.

Assumption of risk at a trampoline park or go-kart attraction

Assumption of risk is a legal defense. Assumption of risk means a person chose to participate in an activity that they knew could cause harm. It limits their ability to claim damages if they get hurt. In other words, participants who voluntarily engage in an activity understand and accept inherent risks like minor collisions, falls, or loss of balance.

However, assumption of risk is not absolute, particularly when the victim is a child or when the injury is the result of risks that go beyond what a reasonable participant would expect. Courts will distinguish between inherent risks of an activity and unreasonable or concealed dangers created by negligent conduct.

In this case, while riding a go-kart carries some inherent risk, families generally do not assume risks that include:

Mechanical failures or malfunctioning controls
Lack of required safety restraints or failure to ensure seat belts are fastened
Inadequate supervision by trained staff
Unsafe track design or failure to enforce speed and spacing rules

Many courts have held that a child cannot meaningfully appreciate complex risks related to mechanical operation or operational safety failures. Minors cannot legally assume risk the same way an adult can. A parent’s consent or signed waiver does not automatically excuse a business from liability for negligence. In other words, if the go-kart malfunctioned, safety protocols were not followed, or staff failed to properly secure or supervise riders, an assumption of risk defense likely would not apply.

Therefore, if Urban Air argues that go-karting is a voluntary recreational activity, the court’s decision about whether that absolves it from liability will depend on whether the injury arose from an ordinary and expected risk, or from preventable dangers allegedly created by the park’s actions or omissions.

In some cases, courts have ruled that parents cannot sign away the rights of children to sue, even after a waiver is signed.

Wrongful death actions

A wrongful death action is treated like a personal injury lawsuit, though rather than an injury being at issue, it’s a claim for costs related to a person’s death. In other words, it’s based on the premise that the surviving family representative may claim damages that the deceased person could have claimed in a personal injury lawsuit. This can include both economic losses, such as funeral expenses and medical costs, and non-economic losses, like mental anguish.

Trampoline park injuries

Trampoline parks and similar entertainment venues have seen a rise in serious injuries and lawsuits, largely due to their growing popularity. Sky Zone, for example, has faced numerous lawsuits for serious injuries like broken bones and head trauma, primarily caused by a lack of supervision, untrained staff and failure to enforce rules (like separating jumpers by size). There have also been cases pointing to faulty equipment and “Glow in the Dark”-style events with reduced lighting as contributing factors to injuries.

For example, a Pensacola, Florida family sued Sky Zone in 2017 after their child suffered a compound leg fracture, alleging a lack of rules and supervision; the minor was awarded $680,656 in damages. In 2019, a Houston jury awarded $11.5 million in a case involving a skull fracture from a torn trampoline, despite a waiver.

What’s next for Emma’s family and a potential lawsuit?

Investigators will determine the cause of the go-kart accident, including whether mechanical failure, inadequate safety measures, lack of supervision or other factors contributed. OSHA’s involvement signals potential workplace safety concerns for park employees as well as public safety responsibilities. Once investigative reports are complete, the victim’s family may choose to pursue legal action.

If Emma’s family files a lawsuit, the outcome will depend on the ability to demonstrate that Urban Air or its operators breached their duty of care and that this breach directly led to her death. Even if waivers were signed, plaintiffs can still seek compensation if there is evidence of negligence or gross mismanagement.

The tragedy at the Port St. Lucie Urban Air Adventure Park underscores the inherent risks that can accompany family entertainment venues when safety protocols fail. As authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal go-kart accident, the legal framework of negligence, premises liability, and wrongful death provides a path for justice and accountability for grieving families. Earlier verdicts and settlements in trampoline park and amusement venue cases show that courts will hold operators responsible when evidence shows preventable hazards contributed to serious harm or loss of life.