The tragic accident that occurred last Thursday, March 24, at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, in which a 14-year-old minor fell from an attraction and lost his life after being taken to the hospital, continues to dismay Americans.
The minor who fell from the Orlando Free Fall attraction was identified by authorities as Tire Sampson, a teenager dedicated to football who sought to be recognized by the NFL as a promising player for the future.
The accident at ICON Park
The event occurred at 11 p.m. Thursday at the FreeFall attraction, identified as the world’s tallest free fall tower.
FreeFall is a 430-foot-high attraction, that is, 131 meters high, in which a group of people are lifted to the top and, after a pause, descend at great speed.
The attraction was inaugurated in December 2021 after passing security tests. Its next review by the authorities would be in June 2022.
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According to some videos recorded by people who were in the park, that day the attraction began to descend normally.
However, when he had already descended more than half the height of the tower, the minor fell from his chair and fell to the ground.
Although an ambulance took the young man to a hospital, he died from the severity of his injuries after the fall.
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Who was the deceased child?
This week, after the first investigations, the Orlando Police announced that the minor who died in the accident at the amusement park was Tire Sampson.a 14-year-old boy who was in the park with two of his best friends.
His name was Tyre Sampson. I don’t know much about him, but what I do know is he was 14 years old and loved playing football. He sadly passed away at the fault of an amusement park because of their negligence to a ride. Rest In Peace little man. You didn’t deserve this. pic.twitter.com/aattCVB6mv
— shadow (@shadotisin) March 26, 2022
As his father Yarnell Sampson told ‘Fox 35 Orlando’, he was a young man dedicated to his studies, part of the honor roll at his school and dedicated to professional football. He dreamed and aspired to play in the NFL.
“Last season, they had a good football season. They went to nationals. It could have been a recruiting trip. He was a team player. He was the type of young man who would take off his shirt and give it to you, ”his father told the aforementioned medium.
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The young man who died is 14-year-old Tyre Sampson of Missouri. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones in the wake of this tragedy https://t.co/uw5W5gEig3
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) March 25, 2022
The man described his son as a “gentle giant”, “a big teddy bear” and a “good-hearted boy”.
Yarnell Sampson said her son, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, was in Orlando for a football team trip in the middle of spring break.
The father said that he saw the videos circulating on social networks about the death of his son and his life was paralyzed.
“I saw the video of my son falling and I couldn’t believe it. My life stopped. I want to know what really happened. To know why a 14-year-old boy with a bright future has been taken from us,” he said in dialogue with ‘CNN’.
Everybody showing the video how this young man died. I want to show a video how he lived. ( I did not know him personally) My condolences to the family and friends of Tyre Sampson everyone knew him as “Big Tick ” R.I.P ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/9wBkUno7De
— ❤️ Lisa ❤️ (@wilkerson036) March 26, 2022
What is known about the accident
Sampson said that his son became uncomfortable during the ascent of the Orlando FreeFall. As he told Fox, his best friends said he panicked while the attraction began to operate.
“I was panicking when I was going up. When he took off the trip, that’s when he felt uncomfortable. He said, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s when he started freaking out”, he counted.
According to the minor’s father, Tyler even warned that something could happen to him.
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“He was explaining to his friend next to him: ‘I don’t know, man. If I don’t make it, please tell my mom and dad that I love them.’ For him to say something like that, he must have felt something, ”said the father of the deceased minor.
The videos of the moment show that, after the child’s fall, and while those present called for an ambulance, the members of the FreeFall attraction team asked each other if they had checked that the minor was properly secured to his chair.
I was panicking when I was going up. When he took off the trip, that’s when he felt uncomfortable
“Did you check it?” they asked each other.
Yarnell Sampson, for his part, claimed that ICON Park officials should have stopped the operation of the attraction if they saw any irregularities.
He even questioned whether his son could really access the attraction, considering that he was a large minor. His father said that the minor was 6 feet 5 inches (1.8 meters) and weighed 340 pounds (154 kilos).
“This should never happen to someone else’s child again,” he stressed.
In fact, the first results of the investigations indicate that the minor would have exceeded the weight limits allowed to get on the attraction.
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The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees some attractions in Florida, released the first documents from the investigation, including the FreeFall ride operations manual.
According to the instructions to operate the attraction, to be able to get on there is a minimum height of 125 centimeters. Although there is no minimum weight to ride, there is a maximum: the person must weigh a maximum of 130 kilograms, so Tyler would have exceeded the required weight.
“Be careful to see if large guests will fit in the seats. Check that they fit within the contours of the seat and that the bracket fits correctly. If not, do not allow this person to travel”, says the manual, according to the documents collected by ‘Fox 35’.
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For now, while investigations continue, the attraction remains closed. The closure request was made by the park itself.
“ICON Park has formally notified the owner of Orlando FreeFall, SlingShot Group, demanding the suspension of not only the operation of Orlando FreeFall but also the operation of Orlando SlingShot, effective immediately, until the attractions are proven safe by authorities,” reads a statement posted on the park’s website.
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