The boy who fell from an attraction at an amusement park in the state of Florida last Thursday and died is said to have been refused several times at attractions the same day because of his weight. His lawyers tell this in an interview with local news channel ‘Fox35’.
The 14-year-old Tire Sampson weighed 156 kilos and was 1.95 meters tall. He would therefore have been refused at most attractions during his day at the ICON Park amusement park in Orlando. However, the employees of the 131 meter high Orlando Free Fall had just let him through, after which things went very wrong. The boy fell from the attraction during the ride in the ‘world’s tallest free-standing drop tower’ and landed on the ground with a big thud. Some time later he died of his injuries. The investigation has yet to determine whether his weight was actually related to the accident.
Sampson’s parents want it to be investigated whether the boy should have been in the attraction at all. “He would have accepted it anyway if they had told him, with respect, that he couldn’t enter the attraction,” attorney Bob Hilliard told Fox35. “That’s their responsibility, because he couldn’t have known himself. If they say it’s safe, you trust it.” Hilliard, along with attorney Ben Crump, wants to get to the bottom of why the accident happened.
Quote
If I don’t survive, tell Mom and Dad I love them
in a panic
There are many questions about the incident. For example, Sampson’s father, who would have been downstairs at the attraction with the mother, previously shared in an interview with ‘Fox35’ that his son would have been panicked when the attraction went up. “He told his friend sitting next to him, ‘If I don’t survive, tell Mom and Dad I love them’.”
The Orange County, Orlando Police Department is investigating the case. In a statement, the ICON Park amusement park has announced that it is temporarily closing the attraction, and that it is “doing everything possible to assist with the investigation”. The other attractions of the park are still open.
Missouri-born Tire Sampson, described by his attorney as “a kind kid who cared about others,” was at ICON Park with his American football team. American football was also his passion; his dream was to become a professional player one day. Part of his team was with him on the ride when the accident happened.
Horrible accident at Florida amusement park: boy (14) dies after falling from ‘freefall tower’
Teenager (14) who slammed to death in an American amusement park was a “friendly giant” of 154 kg: “Why was he allowed to sit on this attraction?”
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