Mother says son’s death on Florida ride was preventable
‘Take the ride down completely. Too much of a risk,’ woman says
The mother of a 14-year-old Missouri boy who was killed while riding a 131-metre drop-tower ride at a Florida amusement park says her son’s death was preventable.
Nekia Dodd, the mother of Tyre Sampson, speaking Tuesday at a news conference in downtown St. Louis, said her son’s death has left her struggling with emotions ranging from frustration to grief to anger.
“Take the ride down completely,” Dodd said.
“Get rid of it all together. Too much of a risk.”
In an interview broadcast Tuesday on ABC’S “Good Morning America,” Dodd said the accident “could’ve been prevented ... it should’ve been prevented. So, as an operator, you have a job to check those rides, you know. The video I saw, that was not done. And, if it was done, it should’ve been done more than once, you know.”
Dodd and the boy’s father filed a lawsuit in state court in Orlando on Monday against the ride’s owner, manufacturer and landlord, claiming they were negligent and failed to provide a safe amusement ride.
The lawsuit claims the defendants failed to warn Sampson, who was 6-foot-2 (188 centimetres) and weighed 380 pounds (172-kilograms), about the risks of someone of his size going on the ride. It also claims they did not provide an appropriate restraint system.
Michael Haggard, one of Dodd’s attorneys, held up a seatbelt strap that he said costs $22 (U.S.). While most free-fall rides have a shoulder harness and a seatbelt, the Orlando Free Fall ride had only an over-the-shoulder harness. Adding seatbelts to the ride’s 30 seats would have cost $660, the lawsuit said.
“It’s disgusting,” Dodd said. “You wanted to save a dollar, but you stripped me of my son.”
Tyre’s father, Yarnell Sampson, told NBC’S “Today” show Tuesday the family is dealing with the boy’s death “day-by-day, second-by-second, minute-by-minute.” He said he hopes legal action can create change in the industry so no other parent suffers.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the teen’s family, said the defendants in the case “showed negligence in a multitude of ways.”
“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, that could have prevented Tyre’s death,” Crump said.