The family of a 14-year-old who tragically died after falling from a ride at an amusement park in Orlando, Florida, is starting a petition to remove the ride, while another theme park is closing a similar ride made by the same manufacturer.
“I would like this ride to be taken down,” Tyre Sampson’s cousin Shay Johnson, told Fox 35 Orlando. “My cousin lost his life over this ride. I don’t feel it’s safe, and feel it should be shut down before someone else’s family have to go through what we are going through.” Johnson started the petition at a memorial service for the teen Sunday. Footage from Fox 35 showed dozens of signatures from visitors to the memorial. “This ride needs to go,” said one signer. “It’s not fair for anyone to come and ride this ride. It’s not fair.”
The ride at ICON Park in Orlando is currently closed while Florida state inspectors investigate the circumstances that led to the teen’s death. The family, meanwhile, has retained high-profile personal injury attorneys Benjamin Crump and Bob Hilliard to represent them in litigation. “This family is shocked and heartbroken at the loss of their son,” Crump said in a statement. “Bob Hilliard and I, on behalf of both parents, Yarnell and Neki, intend to get answers for Tyre’s grieving family and request prayers as they shoulder this unthinkable loss.”
NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump and Bob Hilliard have been retained to represent the family of Tyre Sampson, the 14 year old who fell to his death from the drop tower ride at Florida’s ICON Park. pic.twitter.com/q8uGdy3ExM
— Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) March 26, 2022
At the same time, Dollywood, the Dolly Parton-themed amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, announced Monday it was closing its own drop tower, “Drop Line,” which was developed by the same manufacturer as the tower from which Sampson fell, out of an abundance of caution. “We are deeply saddened to hear of the heartbreaking accident at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this unimaginably difficult time,” the park said in a statement to ABC 6 Knoxville. “Although Dollywood does not have the specific ride involved in this tragic incident, the safety of our guests is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution, and until further details about the accident at ICON Park are known, we have temporarily closed Drop Line, our drop tower ride that was developed by the same manufacturer.”
Sampson was riding the “Orlando Free Fall” drop tower ride at ICON Park, when he somehow slipped out of his harness and fell hundreds of feet to his death. The Daily Wire reported:
The Orlando Free Fall had riders strap into seats in a circle facing outward. The seats are launched hundreds of feet in the air along a large structure before plummeting back toward the ground at over 70 miles per hour.
Sampson appears to have come out of his seat as the dropper descended, flinging him from the ride and onto the concrete below. It is unclear what caused Sampson to lose his seat. A picture floating around social media taken prior to the start of the ride appeared to show Sampson with the crossbar pull down to his chest, but not buckled into his seat with a strap designed to lock riders in.
A 911 call from the scene said that ride attendants did not secure his seatbelt before the ride began ascending, but park workers said that the lights indicating that the seat restraints were locked were on. Yarnell Sampson, Tyre’s father, told Fox 35 that Sampson was panicked as the ride began to ascend. “When the ride took off, that’s when he was feeling uncomfortable,” Sampson said. “He was like, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s when he started freaking out, and he was explaining to his friend next to him, ‘I don’t know man. If I don’t make it down, please tell my Mom and Daddy I love them.’ For him to say something like that, he must have felt something.”
Fox 35 reported that community members would hold a balloon release in memory of Sampson at 6 p.m. local time Monday.