The family of a teenager who died after falling from a Florida amusement park ride has backed an eponymous law to improve rider safety on his 15th birthday.
14-year-old Tire Sampson was nearly 100 pounds over the ride’s 287-pound weight limit when he was thrown from the 430-foot Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park in March 2022.
The 6-foot-5-inch soccer player had been turned away from other rides because of his 383-pound height while visiting from St. Louis, Missouri, on spring break.
According to a manual from the ride’s manufacturer, Funtime Thrill Rides, the Orlando FreeFall’s maximum weight allowance is listed as 130 kilograms or 286 pounds.
Tire panicked as the ride climbed and said to his friends seated next to him: “I don’t know man, if I can’t make it down safely can you please tell my mum and dad I can take them.” love.”
His friends and family got together on Wednesday to celebrate the teenager’s 15th birthday and his family are calling for the ride to be permanently halted.
Rep. Geraldine Thompson also announced that she will introduce the “Tyre-Sampson Act” in the next legislative session to improve rider safety on amusement rides.
Sampson’s parents have sued the ride’s owner, manufacturer and rental company for negligence and failure to provide a safe ride.
The family of Tire Sampson (pictured), 14, from Missouri, gathered to celebrate 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 seat belt was not secured properly by staff
Rep. Geraldine Thompson announced that she will introduce the “Tyre-Sampson Act” in the next legislative session to improve rider safety on amusement rides
Sampson’s death was ruled an accident by the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office
The lawsuit alleges the defendants failed to warn Sampson of the risks of someone his size riding the ride and that they failed to provide an appropriate restraint system.
Yarnell Sampson, his father, said: “I try to give the dead their due respect. He deserved this for not agreeing to die.
“He signed up to ride and have fun and it led to something else, which was my only child. That was my everything.
“He would have been 15 years old. He was born on August 17, 2007. When he was born he was a star to me. He will always be a star.”
An investigation into Sampson’s death found that the ride’s operator made “manual adjustments” to a pair of seats to allow him to board the ride.
The exact details of the proposed bill are unclear as it has yet to be submitted, but it is expected not to allow security sensors to be adjusted beyond the maximum manufacturer settings.
It is also expected that an increase in the requirements for safety marking will be called for.
Tire Sampson was an aspiring football player and honor roll student. His life ended on March 24th when he fell to his death from the ICON Free Fall ride in Orlando
The teenager’s seat sensors had to be manually changed to accommodate Sampson and video from the event shows the teenager’s seat belt is loose
State-of-the-art sensors monitoring the three-month-old ride would normally have alerted operators that the gap was unusually large
Thompson said: “The things that happened here were extraordinary. Seat adjustment after acceptance after approval – that was unusual.
“It was unusual that the young people operating the ride weren’t properly trained, that was unusual.
“It was unusual that the size and weight placards were not appropriate for Tire to make their own decision – that was unusual.”
If passed by the legislature and enacted, the bill will go into effect on July 1, 2023.
Sampson had been worried about the dishes before starting the ride, his father said, and told his friends seated next to him to tell his parents he loved them.
The grieving Yarnell said Tire panicked and shared a chilling foreboding with his two best friends, who sat next to him on the ride.
The investigation of the tragedy by the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services revealed that the safety sensors had been manually modified to leave a larger gap between the seat and the harness before he fell
The soccer player’s family are now suing the ride owner, manufacturer and rental company for negligence for failing to provide a “safe” ride
Inspectors from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are investigating the FreeFall ride following Sampson’s death
According to the ride’s instruction manual, attendants are also required to manually check and tug on the restraint systems when loading a guest to ensure they are locked. The ride will not level up unless drivers are locked in their seats.
The operations manual also advises workers to be “cautious” and ensure “tall guests fit in the seats.”
Legal counsel for The Slingshot Group, the company that owns the ride Sampson fell off, has expressed support for the bill.
A woman who called 911 told a dispatcher that Sampson was facedown, unresponsive, and appeared to have broken arms and legs.
Another man told a 911 dispatcher that the teen had no pulse. A later autopsy revealed that Sampson died of blunt force trauma and his death was ruled an “accident.”
In 2021, a maintenance technician who was improperly connected to a safety device fell 225 feet to his death at a neighboring ride at the park, the 450-foot-tall StarFlyer swing ride.