1 year after FreeFall tragedy: The fatal fall and resulting investigation
By Greg Fox
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ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — Just 15 months after it was certified by a state inspector, the FreeFall is being removed from its prominent spot at ICON Park.
The death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson was both tragic and rare. It is among just a handful of amusement ride deaths each year in the U.S.
“It’s heartbreaking — devastating,” Nekia Dodd, Tyre Sampson’s mother, said.
It is no less painful to his mother, who, for the first time, visited the site this month where her son’s life ended.
“It’s a feeling I hope no parent will ever go through after this ride comes down,” Dodd said.
Cell phone video of the fatal fall was first obtained by WESH 2 Investigates less than 24 hours after the accident. The ride operator is heard shouting to someone on the left side of the ride, the same side where Tyre Sampson was sitting.
Ride Operator: “Hey! Did you check the seat belt on the left side? Seat belt!”
Patron: “Nope.”
Ride Operator: “Seat belt!”
Ride experts tell WESH 2, at that moment, that ride should have been stopped for a safety check.
Instead, it continued up until approximately two and a half minutes into the ride cycle. At that point, the FreeFall dropped, and the 14-year-old fell from his seat to his death in front of horrified spectators.
The video shows the shocked workers in the aftermath.
Ride Supervisor: “How did this happen?”
Ride Operator: “I don’t know.”
Ride Supervisor: “Did you check him?”
Ride Operator: “Yeah… “
Ride Supervisor: “You guys are sure you checked him?
Ride Operators: “Yeah. Yeah.”
Bill Kitchen, President of U.S. Thrill Rides, said it was apparent that something was wrong.
“It’s clear to anybody, not just ride safety engineers, that that boy was not harnessed properly,” he said.
Experts who reached out to WESH 2 Investigates were immediately suspicious of the safety systems. WESH 2 Investigates was the first to report perhaps the most critical fact: Tyre weighed nearly 100 pounds more than should have been allowed on the ride.
According to the “Operations and Maintenance Manual” supplied by the manufacturer, the maximum passenger weight is 130 kilograms, roughly 287 pounds.
Tyre weighed 383 pounds, and in bold print, the manual reads: “Limitation: Large people: Be careful when seeing if large guests fit into the seats. Check that they fit within the contours of the seat and the bracket fits properly. If this is not so – DO NOT LET THIS PERSON RIDE.”
Eight months after WESH 2’s initial reporting, the state of Florida filed a complaint, with violations determining that the harness on the seat Tyre was sitting in, and one other, had been adjusted wider by seven inches, and the proximity operating sensor was moved, to make the ride operate anyway.
“The ride was allowed to commence even though the ride was unsafe and led directly to his fall,” Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said.
The state also found lax training and no operating manuals on-site.
Ride owner Ritchie Armstrong has already paid the $250,000 fine, and according to Tyre’s mother’s attorney, Armstrong’s company, Orlando Eagle Drop Slingshot, and ICON Park have settled the family’s lawsuit.
They continue to sue the Austrian and German ride makers while launching a foundation in Tyre Sampson’s memory.
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