Father of teenager who fell to death at Orlando theme park questions why ride went ahead
The 14-year-old had told friends he felt unsafe before the ride started.
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Your support makes all the difference.A father of a teenage boy who fell to his death from a theme park ride has said he wants answers as to why his son was allowed on the attraction.
Tyre Sampson, 14, from St Louis, was visiting ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, as part of an American football programme.
He fell out of the restraints of the Orlando Free Fall attraction and was rushed to hospital, where he died on Thursday night.
The teenager boarded the ride with two friends, but began to feel uneasy as the ride was climbing to its highest point.
Speaking days after his death, his father Yarnell Sampson told Fox 35 that Tyre “was panicking as he was going up”.
“When the ride took off, that’s when he was feeling uncomfortable,” he said.
The teenager began “freaking out” and asking what was going on, before telling his friends: “I don’t know man, if I don’t make it down, please tell mom and daddy I loved them.”
Mr Sampson questioned why his 6ft 5ins son was allowed on the ride and asked for answers as to why it went ahead.
He said: “This one particular ride said ‘we can take you, come on, get on’. No one else allowed him to get on the ride, so I’m wondering what happened between now and then that made them say ‘come on, get on this ride’.
“This should never happen to anyone’s child ever again, and if I have anything to do with this, it will not happen ever again.”
Tyre was an honour-roll student with a bright future ahead of him and had hopes of playing in the NFL, according to his family.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office said, based on preliminary investigations, the incident seemed to be a “terrible tragedy” as everything “seemed to be okay and normal” ahead of the ride.
Sheriff John Mina said witnesses and employees had been spoken to as part of the ongoing inquiry.
He said there had been no previous reports of issues with the Orlando Free Fall attraction.
The ride opened in December and is billed as “the world’s tallest freestanding drop tower”.
Riders ascend up the tower, are tilted forward and then free-fall most of the way down at 75mph.
The seats – which inspectors were seen analysing after the incident – have an over-the-shoulder harness with two handgrips at chest level.
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