Family sues over death of teen who fell from park ride
The family of the 14-year-old boy who died last month after falling from an amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday accusing the park, ride operator and manufacturer of negligence, the family’s attorneys said.
Tyre Sampson died March 24 when he slipped through the gap between the harness and the seat on the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park, an accident report found last week.
The lawsuit claims the ride was “unreasonably dangerous” and that Tyre died as a direct result of the negligence of ICON Park, which leased the space; the Slingshot Group, which owns and operated the ride; Funtime Handels GmbH, the Austrian company that manufactured the ride; and Keator Construction, which built the ride. Other businesses connected to the ride are also named in the suit.
The companies failed to warn Tyre of the ride’s height and weight restrictions, failed to properly train their employees, and failed to provide an appropriate restraint system like a secondary seatbelt, according to an advanced copy of the lawsuit provided to USA TODAY.
The lawsuit was filed Monday around noon in the Circuit Court of Orange County on behalf of Tyre’s parents according to a copy of the suit released by attorney Ben Crump.
“The defendants in Tyre’s case showed negligence in a multitude of ways,” Crump said in a statement. “From the ride and seat manufacturers and the installer to the owners and operators, the defendants had more than enough chances to enact safeguards, such as seatbelts.”
The FreeFall ride opened in the center of Orlando’s Entertainment District late last year and billed itself as the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower. On the ride, 30 passengers rise to the top, tilt forward and plunge nearly 400 feet at speeds reaching more than 75 mph, according to a January news release from the park.
The ride’s operating manual listed a weight limit, but no height or weight restrictions were posted at the ticket counter and employees were not trained on restrictions, according to the lawsuit.
An accident report released last week found that the sensors on Tyre’s seat were also manually adjusted, which allowed the ride to operate while his seat had a restraint opening almost twice as large as normal even though it was unsafe.
ICON Park previously said the company was “deeply troubled” by the preliminary findings of the state’s investigation. USA TODAY has reached out to the three companies for comment.
The lawsuit claims the ride was “unreasonably dangerous” and that a reasonable manufacturer would have installed seat belts or a secondary restraint system, not allowed the proximity sensors to be manipulated, and installed a mechanism to stop the ride if riders weren’t properly secured.
The companies concealed “the defective design of the Free Fall ride and its known susceptibility to cause injury and death in normal ride operation,” according to the court documents.
The family is seeking damages in excess of $30,000 as well as attorney fees.
The ride will remain closed indefinitely, said Nikki Fried, state commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, last week.