Boy Dies After Falling from 'Landmark' 400-Foot Tall Orlando Amusement Park Ride

A 14-year-old boy died Thursday after he fell from a ride at ICON Park in Orlando. Tyre Sampson was visiting Florida from Missouri, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said. Sampson’s death on the FreeFall ride “appears…

IJR SyndicatedMar 26, 20223 min read

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with a device that goes over each rider, but said he was not aware whether there were seat belts.

WFTV was citing witnesses as saying that when the ride halted, Sampson slipped out from underneath the device. That could not be confirmed.

“At first we thought it was a piece of the ride or whatever until we got a little closer, and it was a person laying on the ground,” witness Montrey Williams said, according to WRBW-TV. “Everyone was just panicking and screaming.”

John Stine, a spokesperson for the ride, said it will be closed indefinitely.

“Our hearts go out to the family of this young man,” Stine said. “Our hearts are broken today.”

According to a news release that came out when the rides opened in December, “The Orlando SlingShot and Orlando FreeFall are owned and operated by The Slingshot Group, Keator Construction, LLC is the general contractor responsible for building these landmark attractions. The manufacturer of the rides is Funtime.”

“The Orlando FreeFall at ICON Park stands at 430 feet, making it the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower. Thirty riders at a time can embrace the beautiful sites of ICON Park and I-Drive as the ride vehicle rotates around the gigantic tower and rises high into the skyline. Once the ride vehicle reaches the top, it’ll tilt forward 30 degrees and face the ground for a brief moment before free falling nearly 400 feet at speeds reaching over 75 mph,” the release said.

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Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Orange County Sheriff’s Office are investigating, according to WKMG-TV.

“We will have inspectors onsite … with our investigation underway, and therefore we are not able to comment further at this point in time,” the agency said Friday.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.