Seat was locked in teen’s Florida theme park ride death, accident report says

The seat of a teen who fell to his death from an amusement park ride in Florida last week was locked, according to an accident report from the state.

On Thursday, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson died after falling from the FreeFall drop tower that takes riders up 430 feet and then drops at high speeds of up to 75 mph, according to Orlando’s ICON Park, where the incident took place.

Sampson came out of the seat when the magnets began slowing down the ride as riders were descending, the report, based on staff witness statements, said.

“Harness was still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped,” said the report, according to CNN. The report was filed by the operator with the fair rides division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and named three witnesses, which were all employees.

What many are asking themselves now is whether or not Sampson may have been too large for the ride where his father, Yarnell Sampson raised that question, telling CNN: “My son was 6′5, 340″ lbs. So, he’s a big guy.”

Posted online by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was the ride’s Operations and Maintenance Manual, indicating that the max weight for a rider is 130kg or 287 pounds.

“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,” the manual said.

It remains unclear if Sampson fit into the seat correctly and if the bracket did not fit him properly.

The horrific video allegedly displaying the incident made its rounds on social media, capturing a rider falling around five seconds into the ride’s drop — about two-thirds of the way down, after the beginning of the ride’s descent to the ground.

The FreeFall ride remains closed, and the incident is still under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. No criminal charges have yet to be filed, CNN reported.

Icon Park said in a statement Monday the ride operator must suspend another well-known ride at the park, called the Orlando SlingShot, “until such time as a thorough investigation by the appropriate authorities has been completed and all parties are satisfied that the rides are safe for the public.”

The Orlando Free Fall and the Orlando SlingShot, which opened in late December, passed their initial inspections with no issues found on Dec. 20 and were declared ready for operation by a state inspector, records show.