A bungee jumping company in Spain may face charges after a teenage girl jumped to her death two years ago. In August of 2015, 13 teenagers headed to a bridge of Cabezon de la Sal with the intentions of having a fun, adrenaline-filled bungee jumping experience. However, the last of the group to jump, 17-year-old Vera Mol, plunged to her death instead.
The Sun reports that a mere moment of miscommunication caused this deadly jump. According to the Sun, the instructor from Aqua21 Aventura, a Spanish adventure sports company, told Mol, “No jump, it’s important, no jump.” He meant that she should not jump, as he had not yet secured the rope that would allow her to jump safely. However, because of his accent, she heard, “Now jump,” and leapt from the bridge.
The company claims that her death was an accident because the teenager jumped irresponsibly on her own, but an appeals court ruled this month that the instructor may be charged with accidental homicide if prosecutors decide to pursue the case, The New York Times reports. The court stated that the instructor’s English was not “sufficient to instruct foreigners in something as precarious as jumping into the void from an elevated point” and ruled that “the misunderstanding was the result of the incorrect use and pronunciation of English.”
The court isn’t just blaming the instructor, but the whole company of Aqua21 Aventura as well. Apparently, the company didn’t make sure that Mol was over the age of 18 before allowing her to jump—in fact, she was underage and by law should’ve been required to get parental consent before performing such a dangerous activity. Even worse, bungee jumping in that region of Spain is banned by federal law, and locals described the bridge as “very risky,” according to the Times.
Mol’s tragic death should have never occurred and we hope this legal ruling will help bring justice to her family.