SALT LAKE CITY — The husband of Esther Nakajjigo, who was driving the car when a traffic control gate decapitated her in Arches National Park, took the witness stand Thursday in the civil trial where he’s asking for $140 million.
Ludo Michaud described marrying Nakajjigo in March 2020 as the world was closing for the COVID-19 pandemic. They didn’t want to wait for wedding venues to reopen.
A native of Paris, Michaud had relocated to Denver for a job programming software for streaming services. That’s where he met Nakajjigo, a celebrity and humanitarian in Uganda who was in a leadership program at the Watson Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
“She was really funny and really pretty,” Michaud said.
“Also really smart.”
“I loved her right away.”
Michaud was smiling as he talked about Nakajjigo. Court recessed for the day before his attorney had a chance to ask him about the accident itself. He may receive few questions about it anyway.
Michaud’s therapist testified earlier Thursday about his treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and how he’s been advised to avoid looking at or talking about anything that would remind him of the accident. Michaud’s lawyers have taken care throughout the trial to ensure he only needed to testify about a few facts. They’ve called other witnesses, including bystanders and first responders who answered the 911 call from the park, to confirm gruesome details of Nakkajjigo’s death.
June 13, 2020, one year to the day after they met on Tinder, the newlyweds took the trip to Arches. Michaud had been there in 2019 with his parents and siblings. The park and Moab, Utah, held a special place for him and he wanted to share it with his wife, according to courtroom testimony.
The newlyweds hiked to Delicate Arch and ate lunch near the Windows area. Then Ludo began driving them toward the exit in a rented Chevy Malibu.
As they neared the visitors center, wind caught a traffic control gate. Its arm pierced the car, decapitating Nakajjigo in the passenger seat.
Earlier Thursday, Emmanuelle Vaux-Lacroix, Michaud’s therapist testified via a video link from France. She said Michaud has made progress in the 2 ½ years since the accident, but still shows symptoms of trauma.
Michaud is afraid to be a passenger in a car Vaux-Lacroix testified; recently, he reported that a bloody scene in a movie and even a log he saw on a hiking trail reminded him of what happened to Nakajjigo.
“He will always be sad for Essie,” Vaux-Lacroix said, referring to Nakajjigo by her nickname.
Assistant U.S. attorney Jeff Nelson asked Vaux-Lacroix about studies showing war veterans can effectively be cured of PTSD after a few therapy sessions. Vaux-Lacroix contended Michaud’s trauma is not like that of a soldier because it was so unexpected.
“In this case,” she said, “what is so violent, what happened to Ludo, is there is no way he could have imagined it.”
“Unfortunately, when you’re at war, you know that the person next to you can be decapitated.”
The U.S. government has admitted liability for Nakajjigo’s death, but Nelson and his co-counsel have argued the plaintiffs should only receive about $4.25 million. They have contended the plaintiffs have overstated Nakajjigo’s future earnings and her widower shouldn’t receive as much as he’s requesting for the trauma of witnessing the accident.
Michaud’s father, Xavier Michaud, traveled to Salt Lake City for the trial. On the witness stand Thursday, he described how his son is less enthusiastic and less energetic since Nakajjigo’s death.
The younger Michaud has been reading books about grief and the meaning of life. Xavier Michaud said his son appears to be trying “to find meaning. To find hope and start again.”
John Ssenkindu, Nakajjigo’s brother, testified Thursday that his father often beat his mother. His parents split after his sister’s death.
“Esther was there as a bridge,” Ssenkindu testified, “like a binder. But when she died, everything fell apart.”
Nakajjigo was sending her family $300 to $400 every month, Ssenkindu testified, and more at Christmas. Since her death, he said, Ludo Michaud began sending his in-laws $500 a month.
The trial is scheduled to conclude Friday. Judge Bruce Jenkins is expected to issue a ruling in the coming weeks awarding damages.