FL - Tyre Sampson, 14, dies from fall on Free Fall Drop Tower ride, ICON Park, Orlando, Mar 2022 *graphic*

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The parents have different lawyers. This poor kid was there with his teammates. Lord have mercy on all of them.

snip
"This young man was the kind of son every parent hopes for -- an honor roll student, an aspiring athlete, and a kind-hearted person who cared about others," Ben Crump, an attorney for Tyre's father, Yarnell Sampson, said in a statement. "A fun theme park visit with his football team should not have ended in tragedy."

"Every parent who sees this horrific video can't help but think the same thing, 'That could have been my child,'" Bob Hilliard, an attorney for Tyre's mother, Nekia Dodd, said in a statement.

The two attorneys "intend to get answers" for the family, Crump said.

14-year-old boy dies after falling from amusement park ride (msn.com)
 
Does anyone know how the harness works? Was it supposed to snap at the crotch area? I wonder if the top harness did come down feel secured and locked. He was so young. I can't even imagine how terrifying it was when he realizes it was not secure :(
 
Does anyone know how the harness works? Was it supposed to snap at the crotch area? I wonder if the top harness did come down feel secured and locked. He was so young. I can't even imagine how terrifying it was when he realizes it was not secure :(
I saw some pics on Twitter (I'll have to go look and see if they were from a MSM source) but, no...there was no clip or snap or buckle of any kind in the crotch area. It is an overhead harness that should "click" and lock into place. There was a molded seat area for legs to rest in with a "hump" in between so your legs are slightly apart. I'll go check the tweets and see if they are from a reputable source that I can link...

It was from a local news station so here is a link to the tweet with photos of the seats and restraints:

https://twitter.com/ryanelijah/status/1507330056598822912?s=20&t=k17WqZqP7iGvncTdY-fnzw
 
Orlando park operators were NOT trained to buckle up 6 feet, 5 inch tall and 300 pound 14-year-old | Daily Mail Online

Lawyers representing a rising middle school football player who fell to his death from a towering Florida amusement ride are trying to understand if there was negligence on behalf of the ride operators or if the teens size or other factors, played a role in the tragedy.

Tyre Sampson, from Missouri, who was known at Big Tick to his friends, was only 14-years-old but already 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed well over 300 pounds.

'This young man, he was athletic and he was big. He had no way of knowing,' said Bob Hilliard, a Texas attorney who represents Tyre's mother, Nekia Dodd, in an interview on Saturday.

'This is going to be an issue of a lack of supervision and lack of training. A straight-up negligence case.'
 
Orlando park operators were NOT trained to buckle up 6 feet, 5 inch tall and 300 pound 14-year-old | Daily Mail Online

Lawyers representing a rising middle school football player who fell to his death from a towering Florida amusement ride are trying to understand if there was negligence on behalf of the ride operators or if the teens size or other factors, played a role in the tragedy.

Tyre Sampson, from Missouri, who was known at Big Tick to his friends, was only 14-years-old but already 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed well over 300 pounds.

'This young man, he was athletic and he was big. He had no way of knowing,' said Bob Hilliard, a Texas attorney who represents Tyre's mother, Nekia Dodd, in an interview on Saturday.

'This is going to be an issue of a lack of supervision and lack of training. A straight-up negligence case.'

IMO this is a slam dunk negligence case- first of all, IMO he should not have allowed on that ride due to his size- after that there will be a myriad of allegations about improper supervision and the ride itself being unsafe------after all is said and done the family will get lots of money and the ride will be made safer, but money will not bring heir precious son back.
 
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There is distressing video of him falling from the ride on YouTube and social media. I did not realise the video was actually going to show him falling I thought it was going to show what the ride was like in operation.

I did the same as you. I thought, at worst, I would see a shadowy glimpse of him falling from so high up. No. No, it was much much worse and I wish I hadn’t watched it. That sound. Literally, I lost my breath. It was so traumatizing that I didn’t move, even breath for what seemed like minutes. I wish I hadn’t watched it or heard it. I reported the video afterwards so it would be taken down. I hope the family never ever watches that video. His friend in the seat next to him just wanted away and those three that were the focus of the video initially were so shaken up. What was supposed to be a fun, thrill-seeking event quickly became a tragedy. How sad. I will never ride an amusement park ride again, ever. After seeing this, I question why I ever trusted that the ride people thoroughly checked mine and my kids’ safety harnesses and belts when they really didn’t care if I made it off the rides safely (I’m sure some took pride and cared). I wonder when he knew? I hope he didn’t know he was in danger for long, if at all, because that would be horrendous. So young. Prayers for his family, his loved ones, and those who were forced to witness such a horrible horrible tragedy.
 
I watched the entire video, too...that SOUND.

My heart goes out to this child's family and friends who witnessed this tragedy. I would expect a quick settlement offer based on the amount of evidence on film. Nothing will replace their loss, of course
 
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ICON Park accident – Boy, 14, flung to his death from world’s tallest drop ride in 400ft plunge in front of families

A TEEN boy has died after falling from the world's tallest drop ride in a 400ft plunge.

Cops received reports of an emergency at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida just after 11pm local time on Thursday.

Boy, 14, dies after falling from Orlando ride in front of horrified witnesses

This is a horrifying tragedy. Sincere condolences to the family of this young man who has tragically died. There is distressing video of him falling from the ride on YouTube and social media. I did not realise the video was actually going to show him falling I thought it was going to show what the ride was like in operation. The video is absolutely horrendous he fell from quite high up and at speed. Significantly the video ends with a park worker asking her colleagues at the ride if they checked the ride and they claimed they did.

It is distressing to think of his family knowing there is a horrific video of his death online I am sure this will only add to their distress. I wish the video had just been provided to law enforcement and not publicly shared to spare his family additional distress and pain.

I am reminded of the horrific Verruckt water slide tragedy which killed a young ten year old boy called Caleb in 2016. Something has gone badly wrong for this young man to fall from the drop tower, it will be interesting to see if he died due to human error of ride staff failing to check the riders were properly secured before starting the ride, malfunctioning safety restraints, or the ride being badly designed with poor insufficient safety restraints or another reason.
In the video to the left it shows the teen looking back and forth in the direction of the ride operator, as if he’s waiting on the operator to check the seats. This is so very sad.
 
I watched the entire video, too...that SOUND.

My heart goes out to this child's family and friends who witnessed this tragedy. I would expect a quick settlement offer based on the amount of evidence on film. Nothing will replace their loss, of course
The sound … that thud of his body hitting the fencing and the ground is sickening.
 
In the video to the left it shows the teen looking back and forth in the direction of the ride operator, as if he’s waiting on the operator to check the seats. This is so very sad.

This same thing happened to me quite a few years ago on the big Rollercoaster that goes out over the strip in Vegas. They flip a switch that makes the bar release and then it comes down in place and locks .. mine only came down about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way and locked and I couldn't push it up or pull it down. It was so loud in that building that no one could hear me yelling and I could barely move my arm to try and flag down the attendant. Luckily just as the cars were starting the slow roll forward, someone noticed me waving and they stopped the cars and fixed my bar. It was one of the scariest things I've ever been though. My prayers go out to this boys family and friends. :(
 
@CTurnerWFTV

There’s a growing makeshift memorial to honor Tyre Sampson, 14, who fell to his death from the Orlando Free Fall ride at Icon Park. The teen is being remembered as kindhearted, an exceptional student, and a standout on the football field.
@WFTV
 

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Where is this video with the sound? I don’t need to see it but all I have seen are ones that show him just exiting the seat though it’s very faint.
It was on you tube. I don’t have the link but the time is over 6 minutes long the fall happens after the 4 minute mark.
 
TW graphic:

If you watch the video, not to be graphic, but I think part of his head might have been damaged when he fell. It looks like there is a piece of it across the fence where he lays.
 
TW graphic:

If you watch the video, not to be graphic, but I think part of his head might have been damaged when he fell. It looks like there is a piece of it across the fence where he lays.
Didn't see anything there.
 
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If I don't make it down tell my momma and daddy I love them': Boy, 14, who fell to his death from 430-foot Orlando drop tower told friends he was worried about safety harness during the ride, says his father

'When the ride took off, that's when he was feeling uncomfortable. He was like 'this thing is moving,' you know what I'm saying. And he was like 'what's going on?'' Samson told WOFL-TV.

The grieving father said that Tyre began to panic and shared a chilling premonition with his two best friends, seated next to him on the ride.

'That's when he started freaking out. And he was explaining to his friends, next to him, 'I don't know man, if I don't make it down, safely, can you please tell my mamma and daddy that I love them,'' said Sampson. 'For him to say something like that, he must have felt something.'

Teen who fell to his death from 430-foot Orlando drop tower KNEW something was wrong | Daily Mail Online

Rest In Peace Tyre. It is heartbreaking to read these details he must have been terrified. I don’t want to blame the ride staff but a ride like this should not be starting until they are certain all the riders are secure with the restraints down securely. Tyre’s shoulder restraint looks higher up than his friends riding beside him. The ride staff should have checked for certain that it was down securely before starting the ride. He was a well built football player and it may be the case that his shoulder and chest size was too big for the shoulder and chest restraint to go down securely.

“Riders also asked the operators about the seat belts.

One said: "Why doesn't this have the little clicky click? Like the seat belt?"
The worker replied: "You talking about a seat belt?"

A bystander appeared to joke: “Make it go faster than 75.”

As the ride starts, the worker yells: “Hey did you take your seat belt on the left side. Seat belt.”

I wish the ride hadn’t been started or it had been stopped if the worker was still asking if the riders had their seatbelts on after it has started. This is a terrible tragedy and I am sure it will be distressing for the ride staff, Tyre’s friends, other people on the ride and everyone who witnessed Tyre fall.

I don’t understand how the ride can start if the shoulder and chest restraints of all the riders are not down securely. You would hope that there would be some kind of warning alarm to let the ride operator know that the restraint of one of the riders is not down properly. The ride should not be able to start unless all the restraints for all the riders are down securely.

It may be the case that it wasn’t possible for the seat restraints to go down securely because he was a well built football player. The ride staff may have had to apologise and say I’m sorry it isn’t possible for you to ride because we can’t get the restraint to go down securely and it isn’t safe for you to ride. I know that this would have been disappointing and difficult for him to hear especially at 14 years old. It is not an easy conversation for the ride staff to say any rider who is well built but unfortunately it may have been necessary.

I expect Tyre’s family will be filing a negligence lawsuit soon against the owners of the park for failing to ensure Tyre’s safety restraint was down securely before starting the ride. They may also file a lawsuit against the ride manufacturer because it should not have been possible for the ride to function if the seat restraints of all the riders were not down securely. It may be that the safety restraints of the ride are not sufficient and this will need to be investigated.

Here in the UK we have a regulatory body called the Health and Safety Executive. The purpose of this organisation is to ensure the safety of employees and the public in places. They do inspections to make sure a ride is safe and if a member of the public died in an accident in a ride at an amusement park here they would do a thorough investigation into the tragedy. The Health and Safety Executive would ensure a ride would be closed until they were satisfied it was safe. If an investigation was done and it was determined that improvements were needed in relation to staff training for the ride staff at the park to ensure the safety of the ride. Or alterations were required to make the ride safer then this would have to be done before the ride was legally allowed to operate again.

We discussed at length here after the Verruckt water slide tragedy that there should be the equivalent of the NTSB in the aviation industry in the U.S for the theme park industry. It was shocking to me that this waterside was built and allowed to operate without sufficient proper legal assurances that it was safe. I do not know if there has been any movement towards this since then or if it is still down to individual States to ensure rides are safe with some states having adequate regulations and others hardly any.








Absolutely spot on @gregjrichards and it would go one step further too because it would be a joint ( potentially) manslaughter investigation with the Health and Safety Directorate and the Detectives from the CID ( police criminal investigation department). This would be with a view to a potential criminal investigation and the police would take the lead in this situation.
 
Pictured: Boy, 14, who died falling from Orlando ICON theme park ride | Daily Mail Online




A photograph of Tyre taken before the ride went into the air shows him sitting with his harness unbuckled and not pulled down to fasten in to his seat.

It is unclear if the harness was closed fully before the ride went into the air, or if the tour operator checked to ensure he was safely buckled in.

An investigation into the park is now underwear. At a press conference on Friday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said: 'It appears to be just a terrible tragedy. We will see moving forward what that results in.'

Tyre and the rest of the group had been told moments earlier that there were no seatbelts on the ride. The only thing stopping them from falling out of their seats were plastic, pull-down harnesses which are supposed to buckle in place, in between riders' legs.

Couldn't they just see if the harness was still buckled in when the ride ended? Or are they going to try to say that it came undone for some reason?
 

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