Thursday 18 August 2022 01:52 PM Family of teenager Tyre Sampson who fell to his death from Florida amusement ... trends now
The family of a teenager who died after falling from an amusement park ride in Florida have backed a namesake law to improve rider safety on what would have been his 15th birthday.
Tyre Sampson, 14, was almost 100 pounds over the rides 287-pound weight limit when he was thrown from the 430ft Orlando FreeFall ride at the ICON Park, in March 2022.
The 6-foot five inches football player had been turned away from other rides for his 383-pound size when he visited on spring break from St. Louis Missouri.
According to a manual produced by the manufacturer of the ride, Funtime Thrill Rides, the maximum weight allowance for Orlando FreeFall is listed as 130 kilograms, or 286 pounds.
His friends and family met on Wednesday to mark the teenager’s 15th birthday, and his family are calling for the ride to be taken down permanently.
State Rep. Geraldine Thompson also announced that she would be introducing the ‘Tyre Sampson Law’ to improve rider safety on amusement rides in the next legislative session.
Sampson's parents have sued the ride's owner, manufacturer and landlord, saying they were negligent and failed to provide a safe amusement ride.
The family of Tyre Sampson (pictured), 14, from Missouri, gathered to mark what would have been his 15th birthday. Sampson was found to be 96 pounds over the weight limit for the FreeFall ride
Sampson was seen falling from the ride in March after his seatbelt wasn't properly secured by members of staff
State Rep. Geraldine Thompson announced that she would be introducing the ‘Tyre Sampson Law’ to improve rider safety on amusement rides in the next legislative session
Sampson's death was ruled an accident by the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office
The lawsuit said the defendants failed to warn Sampson about the risks of someone of his size going on the ride and that they did not provide an appropriate restraint system.
Yarnell Sampson, his dad said: ‘I'm trying to give the proper respect to the dead. He deserved that because he didn't sign up to die.
‘He signed up to ride a ride and have fun and it led up to something else, that was my only child. That was my everything.
‘He would have been 15 years old. He was born Aug. 17, 2007. When he was born, he was a star to me. He always will be a star.’
An investigation into Sampson’s death ruled that the operator of the ride made ‘manual adjustments’ to a pair of seats to allow him to get on the ride.
Exact
