Thursday 6 October 2022 11:34 PM An Orlando theme park ride will be TORN DOWN seven months after boy, 14, ... trends now
An Orlando theme park will demolish its infamous FreeFall ride months after the devastating death of a 14-year-old who fell off the 400-foot-tall attraction.
Icon Park in Florida announced on Thursday that the ride's operator, the Orlando Slingshot, will be taking down the ride that has been inactive since the death of Tyre Sampson on March 24.
Sampson, who was on a football program trip from St. Louis, died after slipping out of his seat on the ride after his safety harness was not properly secured.
'We are devastated by Tyre's death,' Orlando Slingshot wrote in a statement. 'We have listened to the wishes of Tyre's family and the community, and have made the decision to take down the Freefall.'
ICON Park responded to the decision to take down the ride and said they 'respect' Orlando Slingshots initiative to tear it down.
Sampson's family has been advocating for the ride to be taken down for months and launched a lawsuit in June against the ride's owner, manufacturer and landlord, saying they were negligent and failed to provide a safe amusement ride.
Nekia Dodd, Sampson's mother, celebrated the decision to take down the ride on social media.
'Justice has finally been served!! Tyre "Big Tick" Sampson we did it,' Dodd wrote.
The ride operator said there is no set timeline for when the demolition will occur. Additionally, Orlando Slingshot announced they are developing a scholarship in honor of Tyre.
Tyre Sampson was an aspiring football player and honor roll student. His life was cut short on March 24 when he plummeted to his death from ICON Free Fall ride in Orlando. The ride will now be taken down
A report also found that the teen's seat sensors had to be manually altered to be able to fit Sampson and video from the event appears to show the teen's harness being loose. Sampson was 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds. The maximum weight for the ride was 287 pounds
Video from March 24 appears to show Tyre falling out of his seat as it began to descend
Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing Tyre's family, celebrated the plan to demolish the ride. Pictured: Crump outside the federal courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota last summer
Sampson was 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds. He was told by other rides in the park that he was too large to ride safely but was later granted approval from the FreeFall operators - event though the maximum weight for the ride was 287 pounds.
Yarnell Sampson, Tyre's father, said he let out a 'happy cry' when he got the news.
'It's an emotional day,' Yarnell told CNN. 'I am having a happy cry right now. It's a little piece of justice for my son. But the mission doesn't stop. This is just part of the cause. A young man lost his life.'
Attorney Ben Crump and Bob Hilliard representing the Sampson family were also relieved by the demolition news.
'While this announcement is long overdue, the news today is a relief to Tyre Sampson's grieving father, who has been advocating for this since the day Tyre fell to his death,' Crump and Hilliard wrote in a joint statement.
'The Orlando Free Fall ride never should have been permitted to operate under faulty conditions. Theme parks, their parent companies, and regulatory agencies must do better to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening to any other
