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

[jdglove]

For those who did not watch the video... When the ride ended after the fall, the riders started yelling "Let us out. Let us out bro". Then the operator pressed a yellow button and all the harnesses became unlocked at once. No one seemed to check Tyre's seat and harness before that button was pushed. So presumably the report that his harness was down and locked at the end of the ride (as witnessed by the three workers) was determined by some method that is not obvious.

 

[ilovewings]

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 am wondering the same thing-
I think part of the problem is that he was a boy
in a man's body--- No way should he have been a!!owed on that ride.

 

[PrairieWind]

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 think the harness comes down and actually locks into the seat. It probably should though

 

[PrairieWind]

For those who did not watch the video... When the ride ended after the fall, the riders started yelling "Let us out. Let us out bro". Then the operator pressed a yellow button and all the harnesses became unlocked at once. No one seemed to check Tyre's seat and harness before that button was pushed. So presumably the report that his harness was down and locked at the end of the ride (as witnessed by the three workers) was determined by some method that is not obvious.

I was going to go check that again. But now I can't find the full video.

 

[borndem]

Just saw this:

(CNN)The teen who fell to his death last week from an amusement park ride in Florida said he was turned away from two other rides at the park because of his size, according to his cousin.
Shay Johnson spoke with 14-year-old Tyre by phone just before he got on the FreeFall drop tower at the park, she told CNN affiliate Spectrum News 13.
Johnson dropped Tyre off at the park, she said, and he told her he wanted to ride the swing. "I said 'OK. Ride it twice, and ride it for me, too,'" Johnson said.
[...]
"He called me back about 7 minutes later. He said 'They said I'm too big. I can't ride,'" Johnson said in the interview with Spectrum News 13.
Tyre's father, Yarnell Sampson, has also raised the question of his son's size, telling CNN on Friday: "My son was 6'5," 340. So, he's a big guy."
Johnson said she told Tyre to try another ride, the SlingShot, but he was also told he was too big. He told her there was one more ride he was going to try.
It was the Orlando FreeFall. "He called me he say, 'They let me ride. I can ride. I can ride,'" she remembered him telling her before getting on it.
"I didn't know it would be my last time talking to him alive. He just wanted to ride and have a good time," she said.
------------------
More here:
ICON park: Accident report in teen's Orlando FreeFall ride death says seat was locked - CNN

 

[PrairieWind]

For those who did not watch the video... When the ride ended after the fall, the riders started yelling "Let us out. Let us out bro". Then the operator pressed a yellow button and all the harnesses became unlocked at once. No one seemed to check Tyre's seat and harness before that button was pushed. So presumably the report that his harness was down and locked at the end of the ride (as witnessed by the three workers) was determined by some method that is not obvious.

Thanks for the link. But look carefully. I think the harnesses come free just before the kid hits the yellow button.

But what you also see is that prior to lifting up, Tyre's harness is way up. clearly different than everyone else. After he falls and the ride comes to the ground, that harness is in the full down position. He slit out when it slowed and the same g forces forced the harness down to the full closed position.

That woman staff member comes up quickly and asks if they checked him, and they say the "light was on." She asks again, are you sure you checked him. "yes the light was on." There is a disconnect here. She is asking if they physically checked him. They are not answering that, intentionally or otherwise, with "the light was on." Its not the same thing.

I'd like to see the operating procedures for these guys.

 

[jdglove]

test

Thanks for the link. But look carefully. I think the harnesses come free just before the kid hits the yellow button.

But what you also see is that prior to lifting up, Tyre's harness is way up. clearly different than everyone else. After he falls and the ride comes to the ground, that harness is in the full down position. He slit out when it slowed and the same g forces forced the harness down to the full closed position.

That woman staff member comes up quickly and asks if they checked him, and they say the "light was on." She asks again, are you sure you checked him. "yes the light was on." There is a disconnect here. She is asking if they physically checked him. They are not answering that, intentionally or otherwise, with "the light was on." Its not the same thing.

I'd like to see the operating procedures for these guys.

I agree with all that. You are right that the harnesses get released just before he hits the button. And before the ride, the boy operator was chatting with the girl and can't be seen checking Tyre. I suppose it's possible that someone checked him earlier, but it sure doesn't look like his harness is fully down. And that fits the operator yelling "seatbelt, seatbelt on the left" when there was still 3 minutes or so to stop the ride. Plus it looks like Tyre might have been looking around expecting someone to check his harness then was surprised when the ride began. It might have all been avoided if Tyre could have been asked, or if someone checked him rather than just the light, or if they enforced the weight/size limits, or even if the operator stopped the ride upon seeing someone not harnessed correctly. Yeah it seems tragically avoidable. This "report" put out by the park sure didn't answer those questions.

 

[Eloise]

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.

There's literally nothing CPR would have done for Tyre.

 

[PrairieWind]

test

I agree with all that. You are right that the harnesses get released just before he hits the button. And before the ride, the boy operator was chatting with the girl and can't be seen checking Tyre. I suppose it's possible that someone checked him earlier, but it sure doesn't look like his harness is fully down. And that fits the operator yelling "seatbelt, seatbelt on the left" when there was still 3 minutes or so to stop the ride. Plus it looks like Tyre might have been looking around expecting someone to check his harness then was surprised when the ride began. It might have all been avoided if Tyre could have been asked, or if someone checked him rather than just the light, or if they enforced the weight/size limits, or even if the operator stopped the ride upon seeing someone not harnessed correctly. Yeah it seems tragically avoidable. This "report" put out by the park sure didn't answer those questions.

The "report" seems based upon the employees's statements. clearly self serving. The operator we see is clearly just talking with these three individuals. Not checking anyone else. He does physically check the harness on the guy on his left. No one is seen physically checking Ty's harness. There is a guy in a blue jacket walking around, who is he? is he supposed to check?

 

[AC's Grandma]

I'd like to see the operating procedures for these guys.

SBM
here you go.
Funtime-Handels-GMBH_Freefall-Drop-Tower-Manual-1.pdf (wfla.com)


https://www.wfla.com/wp-content/upl...Handels-GMBH_Freefall-Drop-Tower-Manual-1.pdf

 

[Lusitana]

His harness was obviously not locked, it's obvious to me and I never worked at a theme park, it should have been obvious to everyone who was working that ride that night. You can clearly see him in the video pushing the harness down over and over again, it wasn't locked. The poor kid was nervous, pushing it down, looking around to see if anyone would finally come over to him to help him fix it but nobody did.

He was able to hold on for so long once the ride started, poor kid. It must have been terrifying to feel the harness going up.

 

[PrairieWind]

His harness was obviously not locked, it's obvious to me and I never worked at a theme park, it should have been obvious to everyone who was working that ride that night. You can clearly see him in the video pushing the harness down over and over again, it wasn't locked. The poor kid was nervous, pushing it down, looking around to see if anyone would finally come over to him to help him fix it but nobody did.

He was able to hold on for so long once the ride started, poor kid. It must have been terrifying to feel the harness going up.

I certainly don't know, but I am guessing the harness was "locked" in that it wouldn't go up any further. It just wasn't down far enough to really do any good. He was simply too big to be in that set up. Absolutely someone should have checked an noticed he was not secure. When the ride got to the point where the drop ends, he simply slid right out under the harness. I think the failure of the operators to enforce size rules, failure to check that he was secure, is the primary cause. That liability falls on them individually and the ride operating company for failure to train and enforce rules. I do also think there is a bit of a design flaw here.

 

[airportwoman]

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.

You can most certainly kill a person who may not have died anyway. More than one baby who might otherwise have recovered has been killed by a loving parent who, instead of using two fingers to press gently on the baby's sternum, used the heel of their hand and the full weight of their body to do CPR.

 

[airportwoman]

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

I heard that he had a visible injury that made it very obvious to anyone who saw his body that he could not possibly have survived. I won't post it here but I will describe it to anyone who PMs me.

 

[borndem]

This thing is gonna result in a whopping lawsuit or at least some big payout to keep it out of court. JMO.

 

[gregjrichards]

This thing is gonna result in a whopping lawsuit or at least some big payout to keep it out of court. JMO.

I agree with you but tragically no amount of money will bring Tyre back. Tyre’s family understandably want the ride closed down permanently so no other family wants to suffer the devastating loss they are.

 

[kadman]

Such a tragic loss of life. I didn't want to watch the video. I stopped viewing graphic images after I retired because I didn't want it to chip away at my mind and soul anymore. I would advise anyone that if you don't need to, don't view graphic images.

 

[mickey2942]

Such a tragic loss of life. I didn't want to watch the video. I stopped viewing graphic images after I retired because I didn't want it to chip away at my mind and soul anymore. I would advise anyone that if you don't need to, don't view graphic images.

I agree. Some things you can't "unsee".

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
kadman !!
​

 

[MimosaMornings]

I wonder what the ride operator’s ages were...I doubt you will get anyone over 18-19 years old working on any of these rides due to the low wage and weekend hours. I would bet none of these workers had more than a cursory first aid “training” and had never seen an fatal accident in their life much less react to one in real time right in front of their eyes. I remember viewing my first car accident with a fatality when I was 12 and it’s not easily forgotten.
JMO