‘What’s going on?’ asked teen killed in theme park ride fall

A TEENAGE boy who died falling off a theme park ride in Orlando, Florida, believed he was not strapped in properly, telling friends to “tell his parents he loved them” as it took off.

Video footage of the incident appears to show 14-year-old Tyre Sampson in his seat, unbuckled, as the 430ft Orlando Free Fall ride takes off.

Someone filming captured Tyre falling out some 100ft from the bottom and landing on the ground.

A man who saw the accident told a 911 dispatcher that the boy was propelled out of his seat when the ride braked.

Staff can then be heard on the video frantically asking whether Tyre, who was on an American football programme trip from St Louis, Missouri, had been securely strapped in.

“You didn’t check it?” a park attendant asks. The ride operator, however, insisted that he had and she asked again: ‘Are you sure?’

Yarnell Sampson, the teenager’s father, said: “When the ride took off, that’s when he was feeling uncomfortable. He was like ‘This thing is moving,’ and he was like ‘What’s going on?’’

“That’s when he started freaking out. And he was explaining to his friends, next to him, ‘I don’t know, man, if I don’t make it down safely, can you please tell my mamma and daddy that I love them,’’ added Mr Sampson. “He must have felt something.”