The Orlando FreeFall, which just began operations in December, was designed by a company named Funtime, whose rides are operated all over Florida through another company, Slingshot Group of Companies. The horrific death of Sampson points to the dangerous negligence and criminal recklessness that characterizes the super-profitable amusement park industry nationwide and globally. John Stine, sales director with the Slingshot Group of Companies, which owns the Orlando FreeFall, said in a statement: “We are devastated that this happened, and our hearts go out to the family.” Stine said the company was “cooperating with all other investigations at this time to get to the bottom of what happened.” Orange County Sheriff John Mina said “absolutely no criminal charges” have been filed, though the agency is assessing whether the incident was an accident or intentional. Sampson was a Missouri resident visiting a friend’s family. Law enforcement officials said the investigation into the killing is underway. He described it as “the biggest smack I ever heard in my life.” Another dispatcher gave instructions to a different caller for CPR after seeing Sampson on the ground, but the caller said the youth was “not breathing,” while a pool of blood covered the area.
One person told the dispatcher he saw the teen fall right out of his seat and fall through a chair, flopping on the ground. Local fire rescue operators released several 911 calls of witnesses recounting the gruesome incident. One woman yelled for an ambulance to be called, while other passengers screamed with demands that they be let off the ride. Witnesses on the ride and in the surrounding area can be heard crying with terror as the boy flew out of his chair and fell flat on the ground. Some 10 minutes after taking off and as the ride was slowing down, Sampson was seen dislodged from his seat. Videos of the incident showed riders being slowly lifted up the drop tower attraction before quickly descending down. Sampson was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. Cell phone footage, capturing the tragic incident went viral on Friday morning, shows that Tyre Sampson took a fatal dive from the park’s “Orlando FreeFall” ride, plummeting from the 430-foot ride at about halfway up the air. Update: “ State investigation reveals new details about death of 14-year-old boy who fell from amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida ”Ī 14-year-old boy fell to his death Thursday night at the ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, while riding on a drop tower ride. The other closed rides are the Drop Zone rides at Paramount's Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C., Paramount's Kings Island near Cincinnati and the Toronto park.Follow-up: “ Death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson on Orlando, Florida, amusement park ride highlights consequences of deregulation, lax oversight ” The other standup roller coasters to be reopened are King Cobra at Kings Island and Skyrider at Paramount Canada's Wonderland in Toronto. "As far as I am concerned, once they have locked you in that machine, you're not supposed to get out unless you're Houdini," he said. Gary Tomei, a lawyer for Fan's family, said he doesn't see how a ride can be safe if someone falls from it while it's moving. "The ride and the safety restraints were operating as designed and intended." "We are reopening the standup roller coasters because our investigation of the accident at Kings Dominion showed that it was the result of rider misconduct," Lomax said.
CINCINNATI (AP) - Paramount Parks closed seven rides at five North American amusement parks after fatal accidents this week on two types of rides: a standup roller coaster and a free-fall ride called the Drop Zone.Īll three of the roller coasters were to reopen Thursday night, but the other rides will remain closed indefinitely, Paramount spokesman Susan Lomax said Wednesday.The closings followed an accident Sunday that killed a 12-year-old boy on the Drop Zone at Paramount's Great America park in Santa Clara, Calif., and a roller coaster accident Monday at Paramount's Kings Dominion park near Richmond, Va.
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