Teen Dies in Tragic Amusement Park Fall
Rubi Orellana
According to state investigators, the Florida amusement park ride where a teenager died last month poses a "immediate substantial threat to public health."
The Free Fall ride was formally closed on March 25, the day following the incident at ICON Park in Orlando, according to a State Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services order issued to the public on Monday. Tyre Sampson, a 14-year-old Missouri teen, tumbled out of his seat and died in front of startled witnesses when the drop tower-style rollercoaster plunged toward the ground.
The Free Fall "is considered an immediate serious danger to public health, safety, and welfare, and may not be operated for patron use until it has passed a future inspection by or at the direction of the Department," according to the order that closed the ride. Orlando Eagle Drop Slingshot LLC, the Free Fall's owner, received the order.
Shortly after the fatal accident, the company's other ICON Park ride was shut down as well. The Free Fall was described as the world's highest drop when it first opened, with a roughly 400-foot plunge. Tyre, who was over 6 1/2 feet tall, was apparently not properly fastened into the ride, with a safety harness sitting well above that of the other riders, according to photos and footage shared on the internet. A speaker can be heard saying, "Why doesn't this have the tiny clicky click to it, like the seat belt?" in a video obtained by NBC News. A voice from the ground can be heard shouting as the ride takes off: "Hey, did you double-check your left-side seat belt? Fasten your seatbelts! Fasten your seatbelts!"
Tyre was on spring break with his football squad in Florida. His uncle Carl Sampson described him as a straight-A student who "had a bright future ahead of him" and was never in trouble. One of the Sampson family's attorneys, Michael Haggard, told NBC station WESH in Orlando that he is concerned about the apparent lack of a legally mandated declaration of the ride's maximum rider weight. Tyre is said to weigh roughly 300 pounds. The maximum rider weight is around 285 pounds. According to WESH, there is no maximum rider weight limit on Free Fall's placards, merely a maximum height. Tyre's family regards his death as "preventable," "I believe this is the saddest tragedy documented on camera that I have ever seen," Crump stated after visiting the ride in person.
Florida officials acknowledged Friday that there is no direct federal or state regulation of what thrill-ride manufacturers put in their manuals prescribing safety precautions, as attention turns to the restraint system used to keep riders harnessed into the Free Fall.
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