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The seat harness of an Orlando amusement park ride was in the locked position after a 14-year-old teen fell out, plunging to his death, according to an accident report released Monday.
FLORIDA FREEFALL TEEN DEATH: OPERATOR ERROR TO BLAME, RIDE SAFETY EXPERTS
“FreeFall was coming to [sic] down the tower. When the magnets engaged, the patron came out of the seat,” wrote a theme park staffer in an accident report after the tragic March 24 demise of rising Missouri middle school football player Tyre Sampson. “Harness was still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped.”
Tyre Sampson (FOX 35 Orlando)
The report lists the names of three employees as witnesses, including the staffer who was operating the ride at the time of the accident.
Disturbing footage shows the moment Sampson slipped out, about halfway down the ride’s 430-foot descent, and smacked into the pavement.
ICON Park shuttered the attraction, called the Orlando FreeFall, which hurtles passengers at a speed of 75 mph toward the ground as they’re tilted at a 30-degree angle. The ride opened late last year.
An operating manual indicates that Sampson significantly exceeded the maximum allowable weight of 286 pounds. The teen was 6-foot-5 and weighed 350 pounds. He had been turned away from other rides due to his size, his cousin told news outlets.
Authorities Monday also released several 911 calls that were made after Sampson hit the ground. One person said that the boy’s seatbelt had not been secured properly.
Amusement park visitors were in shock after seeing a teenage boy die after falling off of the Orlando FreeFall ride.
(Fox 35)
Another caller said the ride stopped abruptly and that’s when Sampson flew out. “The guy fell right out of the seat, and bam! Went straight through the chair and just flopped,” the person states on the recorded call. “It was the biggest smack I’ve ever heard in my life.”
The accident report was filed with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates amusement rides at all but the largest theme parks in the state. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shocking accident that occurred at the theme park located about seven miles from Disney World.
A spokesman for the Slingshot Group, the company that owns the Orlando FreeFall, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Sampson was part of a football club that was in Orlando for a week-long training session, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported.
His father, Yarnell Sampson, said his son knew that something was amiss. As the ride ascended, he told his friend seated next to him that if he didn’t make it down, “Please tell my mom and dad I love them.”
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