[chris]

Tyre Sampson, a 14-year-old football player from the St. Louis area, fell to his death from the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, on March 24, 2022. A state-commissioned investigation found that operators had adjusted safety sensors, allowing the ride to run while he was not securely restrained.

Tyre lived in Berkeley, Missouri, with his mother, Nekia Dodd. An honor roll student at City Garden Montessori, he played for the St. Louis Bad Boyz football club and planned to play at East St. Louis Senior High School. He was visiting Orlando with teammates and chaperones for a weeklong football training camp and spring break trip.

The 430-foot FreeFall had opened in December 2021. Slingshot Group owned and operated it, along with the nearby Orlando Slingshot ride. Just after 11 p.m. on March 24, Tyre boarded with friends. He fell from his seat as the ride descended and died at a hospital.

The investigation by Quest Engineering found that operators had manually altered harness proximity sensors on two seats to accommodate larger riders. Those adjustments allowed the safety lights to illuminate and the ride to operate even though Tyre was not secure. Investigators found no mechanical or electrical failure.

The engineering report, dated April 18, 2022, found that Tyre slipped through a seven-inch gap between his seat and the overhead harness. The manufacturer's recommended maximum rider weight was 287 pounds. Tyre weighed 383 pounds. The ride had no seatbelt in addition to its overhead restraint.

The Orange County medical examiner ruled his death an accident caused by blunt force trauma after a fall of more than 70 feet.

Dodd and Tyre's father, Yarnell Sampson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on April 25, 2022, against ICON Park, Slingshot Group, ride manufacturer Funtime and seat and harness manufacturer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides. The lawsuit alleged that adding seatbelts would have cost about $22 per seat, or $660 for the ride.

The parents reached settlements with ICON Park and Slingshot Group for undisclosed amounts. Slingshot Group also agreed to pay a $250,000 state fine in a separate settlement that did not affect the family's lawsuit.

The case against Funtime went to a one-day trial in Orange County. The company did not appear in court. On Dec. 5, 2024, jurors awarded Dodd and Sampson $155 million each, a total of $310 million. Because Funtime is based in Austria, the family must seek an order from an Austrian court to collect the award.

The FreeFall was dismantled in March 2023. The Tyre Sampson Act, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that May and effective July 1, 2023, required height and weight signs, reporting of ride modifications and injuries, employee training and unannounced inspections. It also added 14 inspectors.

[Guns N' Coffee]

Link to related post:
https://www.documentingreality.com/f...lorida-231018/