The Florida amusement park ride where a 14-year-old boy fell to his death in March will be taken down, the ride’s operator announced.
Orlando Slingshot, which operated the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park in Orlando, said Thursday it will be shutting down the 400-foot ride following the death of Tyre Sampson on March 24.
“We are devastated by Tyre’s death. We have listened to the wishes of Tyre’s family and the community, and have made the decision to take down the FreeFall,” Ritchie Armstrong of Orlando Slingshot said in a statement. “In addition, Orlando Slingshot will honor Tyre and his legacy in the classroom and on the football field by creating a scholarship in his name.”
The ride, which opened in late 2021, takes riders 400 feet in the air before plunging down at speeds over 75 mph, according to the park. It was advertised as the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower.
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An accident report released in April found the seat Tyre sat in was manually adjusted and unsafe. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services found sensors on two of the ride’s seats were modified so the ride could be operated. But those seats had openings twice as large as normal, meaning the gap may have expanded just before Tyre fell.
There were no mechanical or electrical issues when the accident occurred, the report said.
Tyre, from Missouri, was visiting Orlando during spring break when he died of blunt force trauma. Tyre weighed 383 pounds, well above the ride’s limit of 287 pounds, according to an autopsy report.
A month after the accident, Tyre’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the park, ride operator and manufacturer, accusing each party of negligence. The companies had failed to warn of the teen’s height and weight restrictions, failed to properly train employees and failed to have an appropriate restraint system, according to documents of the lawsuit provided to USA TODAY.
“While this announcement is long overdue, the news today is a relief to Tyre Sampson’s grieving father, who has been advocating for this since the day Tyre fell to his death,” Ben Crump and Bob Hilliard, attorneys for Tyre’s father, said in a statement to the Associated Press.
The ride had been closed indefinitely since Tyre’s death. ICON Park said it “welcomes and appreciates” the decision to close the ride. Orlando SlingShot said the timeline for when the ride will be taken down will be determined at a later date.
Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; Associated Press
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