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

[Ray_of_hope]

My biggest heartache was watching no one run to Tyre. One person ran near him to call for help, but no one crouched down to talk to Tyre or hold his hand. There were more people questioning whether workers followed procedure, which is important, but that info can be gathered when the medical team gets there.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@Ray_of_hope I know what you mean; I'd like to think I would have, but maybe it was too traumatic a scene for people? (I don't want to watch the videos.) Poor poor kid.

 

[jdglove]

My biggest heartache was watching no one run to Tyre. One person ran near him to call for help, but no one crouched down to talk to Tyre or hold his hand. There were more people questioning whether workers followed procedure, which is important, but that info can be gathered when the medical team gets there.

And the 911 caller who wouldn't give CPR when asked to do so by the dispatcher, or even turn him over. I don't want to be too critical of anyone there, not being in their shoes, but I wish I could have been there instead. The outcome was inevitable but everyone deserves whatever can be done.
Also, if you read the user manual for the ride, it says the operator must be trained in first aid. Anyone trained in first aid will perform in that circumstance, not just stare at the broken person. Had Tyre any chance to survive, such as a lower fall, first aid might have mattered.

 

[Gardenista]

Correct. But that doesn’t automatically absolve the manufacturer of liability.

Why? They give a weight limit and the ride won't run unless all of the latches are hooked. As long as the green light system didn't malfunction, what else could they do?

 

[MimosaMornings]

Wasn’t he on a football team outing? Chaperones or coaches?
I hope they investigate that ride thoroughly.
I can’t imagine the horror and grief his family is going through. Prayers for all of them.

 

[PrairieWind]

Why? They give a weight limit and the ride won't run unless all of the latches are hooked. As long as the green light system didn't malfunction, what else could they do?

I think we are just going to have to wait to get more verifiable information. A lot of this just isn't making much sense right now.

Does anyone know for a fact just exactly how these restraint harnesses work? How do they "lock"?

 

[Cruiser933]

From what I saw on the video and having been on rides with similar overhead harnesses, they click/lock at multiple places depending on the size of the rider. He probably had it locked in the first position, which may not have been far enough to keep him secure. The ride drops and then brakes and stops long before it reaches the ground. I think it was at that braking and stopping that he slipped out from under the harness.

I would like to know if the operators went around and checked to see if every harness was down as far as possible. That is what most ride operators do on thrill rides. Did these simply rely on the lights showing all harnesses were locked?

I think both the park and manufacturer should be held liable. The park should not have let him ride. The manufacturer should not have the light turn green when the harness is in that first position.

 

[PrairieWind]

From what I saw on the video and having been on rides with similar overhead harnesses, they click/lock at multiple places depending on the size of the rider. He probably had it locked in the first position, which may not have been far enough to keep him secure. The ride drops and then brakes and stops long before it reaches the ground. I think it was at that braking and stopping that he slipped out from under the harness.

I would like to know if the operators went around and checked to see if every harness was down as far as possible. That is what most ride operators do on thrill rides. Did these simply rely on the lights showing all harnesses were locked?

I think both the park and manufacturer should be held liable. The park should not have let him ride. The manufacturer should not have the light turn green when the harness is in that first position.

That is pretty much what I was guessing. I just wondered if anyone here had been on this actual ride. Like you, on my past experiences on rides, once you find your seat, the harnesses come down at some point and then an attendant walks around and checks them. The audio of the one worker asked the others, "did you check it" and the attendants saying essentially "yes, the light was on" tells me that they may have only relied upon the light signal and did not actually physically check each seat. That is just my speculation however. We'll just have to see if that is what happened or not.

 

[moonriverfarm]

the sound is not something you can forget

DBM

 

[moonriverfarm]

I was able to find and watch the first part of the video where Tyre is to the left of the friends of the guy recording and one thing I noticed immediately is that his legs are so long that way more of the bottom half of his body was off the seat, like in addition to everything else, the seat wasn't deep enough for him. Just heartbreaking. And they'll likely throw that young ride operator under the bus, but I'm guessing he's not well trained and that turnover in a job like that is high. JMO

Can you link the video or send to me?

 

[MimosaMornings]

Orlando FreeFall ride death: Video shows Tyre Sampson in seat moments before falling

 

[ChatteringBirds]

It was initially reported that his mother and stepfather were at the park, correct? But I assume he was behind a fenced area, they would not have been able to run to him?

I think it's common that people who call 911 aren't in a position (emotionally, etc) to perform CPR, but I wonder who did attempt to assist him first - paramedics who were called? The park's own medical staff? Member of the public?

 

[Lusitana]

I just have a random question, not victim blaming. Say Tyre is at the park with his buddies, they are all going on rides, having a great time. And Tyre keeps getting turned away from rides due to his size. He finally finds an operator who lets him on the ride. (Total employee safety fail), and Tyre does get harness to "lock down", after holding in his breathe. Because he really wants to go on a ride.

Then, when the ride starts, and his full weight is against the harness, it pops. And it is too late.

I have personally seen people who have been on airplanes, try to get safety belts on...so they won't ask for an extension belt.

Not blaming a 14 year old at all. Total fail on employee. But he may have checked the harness and it was "clicked". But once G force started...done.

Doesn't the harness lock in the croth area? In the video, Tyre's harness was not even close to being locked. I could see he was nervous even before the ride ascended because he kept pushing the harness down. It was also very clear that someone, most likely Tyre, was clearly not properly seated and locked because the ride employee advised someone about the seatbealts while the ride was ascending. Shouldn't emergency stopped it, but nothing was done. Very, very, very tragic.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Doesn't the harness lock in the croth area? In the video, Tyre's harness was not even close to being locked. I could see he was nervous even before the ride ascended because he kept pushing the harness down. It was also very clear that someone, most likely Tyre, was clearly not properly seated and locked because the ride employee advised someone about the seatbealts while the ride was ascending. Shouldn't emergency stopped it, but nothing was done. Very, very, very tragic.

If it was locked how was he able to move it?
I don’t understand how he fell out if it was locked.
It’s a horrific tragedy.

 

[Lusitana]

If it was locked how was he able to move it?
I don’t understand how he fell out if it was locked.
It’s a horrific tragedy.

I don't believe it was locked.

 

[airportwoman]

And the 911 caller who wouldn't give CPR when asked to do so by the dispatcher, or even turn him over. I don't want to be too critical of anyone there, not being in their shoes, but I wish I could have been there instead. The outcome was inevitable but everyone deserves whatever can be done.
Also, if you read the user manual for the ride, it says the operator must be trained in first aid. Anyone trained in first aid will perform in that circumstance, not just stare at the broken person. Had Tyre any chance to survive, such as a lower fall, first aid might have mattered.

The caller may not have known how to do CPR; you can kill a person who wouldn't have otherwise died if you do it wrong.

 

[jdglove]

The caller may not have known how to do CPR; you can kill a person who wouldn't have otherwise died if you do it wrong.

That's a myth. See 25 Things You Don't Know About CPR... But Should

"Some people are worried about giving CPR because they’re afraid they could cause a death that wouldn’t happen otherwise. Even if CPR is given awkwardly by someone untrained, it cannot kill someone or make them worse off than they already are."
If someone's heart has stopped, they will die within minutes if you do nothing. They will not magically recover. Someone needs to start chest compressions immediately and hopefully apply a portable defibrillator to give them any chance at all of survival.

 

[beatrixpotter]

If it was locked how was he able to move it?
I don’t understand how he fell out if it was locked.
It’s a horrific tragedy.

This video on roller coaster restraints was very interesting after reading this thread. I'm going to guess the ride used a hydraulic restraint. Though I very much remember ratchet restraints growing up and that feeling of the restraint hitting a pin and locking in place and only being able to move within that narrow range. It does seem like with either type of restraint it should have had to close tight enough to secure him though.

The video mentions that seatbelts can often be used on rides to show that the rider will fit with the restraint system. If the rider doesn't fit with the seatbelt then you know the restraint won't fit either. But this ride had no back up? What "systems of redundancy" did it have to ensure a rider wouldn't come out?

 

[beatrixpotter]

Also it appears that on basically all rides the restraints are all released at the same time at the end of the ride when the ride comes to the resting position. So how could the employees have ascertained that his seat remained locked? It seems that as soon as they unlocked the ride for the rest of the riders all the seats would be unlocked at once unless they were using some back up mechanism and unlocking each seat one at a time. I have no idea what happens in the video. But did they unlock each seat? How did they unlock the other riders and then determine his seat was locked? I'm very curious about how someone determined his seat remained lock.

 

[nao]

Moo.. re the CPR. Tyre fell from a great hight it would of been obvious that he was dead....moo