Advertisement
The family of a 14-year-old boy who fell to his death from a ride at ICON Park last month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.Tyre Sampson boarded the Free Fall drop ride along International Drive but fell out of his seat as the ride descended. In the lawsuit, Sampson’s family believes the defendants were negligent.“The negligence starts at the top! …When this ride was manufactured in Austria, certain layers of protection and safety provisions were not put into the ride,” Michael Haggard, an attorney for the Sampson family said.Haggard is one of the attorneys who have filed a lawsuit against the owner of the ride, Slingshot Group, and its related companies, as well as the manufacturer and designers of the ride, Funtime Handels and Gerstlauer.Sampson’s parents are seeking damages for loss of life, pain and suffering for his family and loss of future earnings. It comes just more than two weeks after the rising football star was laid to rest.And it comes just one week after Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried released findings from the state engineer, Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis, that revealed the shoulder sensor on the restraint on the seat in which Sampson was sitting was manually adjusted to allow the ride to operate while the harness was not fully closed. The engineer’s report says it was open seven inches, enough to allow him to slip out and fall to his death. “By manipulating the seats, the sensors were totally tripped and did not recognize anything. And so, obviously, Slingshot is responsible for the negligence of their employees so there is really no sense in suing them individually in this case,” Haggard said.The lawsuit filed in circuit court in Orange County alleges the ride operator “negligently adjusted restraint systems on the Free Fall ride… failed to train their employees… and failed to provide a safe amusement park ride” by “failing to post warnings as to the proper height and weight restrictions for the Free Fall.”WESH 2 Investigates found signs at the ticket window indicating a minimum height but nothing about weight.The lawsuit says Sampson was six feet two inches tall and weighed 380 pounds. The ride manual provided by manufacturer Funtime Handels listed a maximum weight of 287 pounds.Not only is the ride operator and owner of the Free Fall being sued, along with the manufacturer and designer, but the family is also suing ICON Park, the landlord for the attraction.While it won’t bring him back, Sampson’s family plans to lobby Congress to improve theme park safety. Representatives for ICON Park declined to comment on the lawsuit, however, Slingshot Group’s attorney, Trevor Arnold, commented on the lawsuit filed Monday. Arnold, on behalf of GrayRobinson P.A., said in a statement: “Orlando Slingshot continues to fully cooperate with the State during its investigation, and we will continue to do so until it has officially concluded. We reiterate that all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided by the manufacturer of the ride were followed. We look forward to working with the Florida legislature to implement change in the industry and we are also supportive of the concepts outlined by State Representative Geraldine Thompson to make changes to state law through the ‘Tyre Sampson Bill’ to prevent a tragic accident like this from ever happening again.”Another defendant, Keator Construction of Ocoee, did answer our call and said they constructed the “base” for the Free Fall ride, but had no other comment.RELATED: Teen dies after falling from ride at ICON ParkWESH 2 EXCLUSIVE: Man who filmed teen’s deadly fall from FreeFall describes horrific ICON Park accidentRELATED: Deadly ICON Park accident: Investigation into Free Fall reveals ride lacks seatbelts, has unique safety measures
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The family of a 14-year-old boy who fell to his death from a ride at ICON Park last month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Tyre Sampson boarded the Free Fall drop ride along International Drive but fell out of his seat as the ride descended.
In the lawsuit, Sampson’s family believes the defendants were negligent.
“The negligence starts at the top! …When this ride was manufactured in Austria, certain layers of protection and safety provisions were not put into the ride,” Michael Haggard, an attorney for the Sampson family said.
Haggard is one of the attorneys who have filed a lawsuit against the owner of the ride, Slingshot Group, and its related companies, as well as the manufacturer and designers of the ride, Funtime Handels and Gerstlauer.
Sampson’s parents are seeking damages for loss of life, pain and suffering for his family and loss of future earnings. It comes just more than two weeks after the rising football star was laid to rest.
And it comes just one week after Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried released findings from the state engineer, Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis, that revealed the shoulder sensor on the restraint on the seat in which Sampson was sitting was manually adjusted to allow the ride to operate while the harness was not fully closed. The engineer’s report says it was open seven inches, enough to allow him to slip out and fall to his death.
“By manipulating the seats, the sensors were totally tripped and did not recognize anything. And so, obviously, Slingshot is responsible for the negligence of their employees so there is really no sense in suing them individually in this case,” Haggard said.
The lawsuit filed in circuit court in Orange County alleges the ride operator “negligently adjusted restraint systems on the Free Fall ride… failed to train their employees… and failed to provide a safe amusement park ride” by “failing to post warnings as to the proper height and weight restrictions for the Free Fall.”
WESH 2 Investigates found signs at the ticket window indicating a minimum height but nothing about weight.
The lawsuit says Sampson was six feet two inches tall and weighed 380 pounds.
The ride manual provided by manufacturer Funtime Handels listed a maximum weight of 287 pounds.
Not only is the ride operator and owner of the Free Fall being sued, along with the manufacturer and designer, but the family is also suing ICON Park, the landlord for the attraction.
While it won’t bring him back, Sampson’s family plans to lobby Congress to improve theme park safety.
Representatives for ICON Park declined to comment on the lawsuit, however, Slingshot Group’s attorney, Trevor Arnold, commented on the lawsuit filed Monday. Arnold, on behalf of GrayRobinson P.A., said in a statement: “Orlando Slingshot continues to fully cooperate with the State during its investigation, and we will continue to do so until it has officially concluded. We reiterate that all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided by the manufacturer of the ride were followed. We look forward to working with the Florida legislature to implement change in the industry and we are also supportive of the concepts outlined by State Representative Geraldine Thompson to make changes to state law through the ‘Tyre Sampson Bill’ to prevent a tragic accident like this from ever happening again.”
Another defendant, Keator Construction of Ocoee, did answer our call and said they constructed the “base” for the Free Fall ride, but had no other comment.
RELATED: Teen dies after falling from ride at ICON Park
WESH 2 EXCLUSIVE: Man who filmed teen’s deadly fall from FreeFall describes horrific ICON Park accident