Accident report in teen’s Florida park ride death says seat was locked

Tyre Sampson, 14, fell Thursday from the FreeFall drop tower that takes riders up 430 toes after which drops at speeds of as much as 75 mph, in response to ICON Park in Orlando, the place the incident occurred.

Sampson got here out of the seat when the magnets engaged to gradual the journey in the course of the descent, in response to the report, which was based mostly on journey worker witnesses and was obtained by CNN.

“Harness was nonetheless in a down and locked place when the journey stopped,” mentioned the report from the Truthful Rides division of the Florida Division of Agriculture and Client Companies.

The report named three witnesses, all listed as workers.

There are additionally questions round whether or not {the teenager} might have been too massive to be allowed on the journey.

Sampson’s father, Yarnell Sampson, raised that query Friday, telling CNN: “My son was 6’5″, 340. So, he is a giant man.”

The journey’s Operations & Upkeep Handbook, which has been posted on-line by the Florida Division of Agriculture and Client Companies, signifies the utmost passenger weight is 130 kilograms (roughly 287 kilos).

“Watch out when seeing if massive visitors match into the seats. Verify that they match throughout the contours of the seat and the bracket suits correctly. If this isn’t so – Don’t let this individual journey,” the handbook states.

It is not clear if Sampson match the contours of the seat or if the bracket match correctly.

CNN has reached out to the journey operator, Slingshot, and ICON Park to ask if there was a weight restrict for the journey and whether or not Sampson match correctly.

Video circulating on social media, purportedly of the ICON Park incident, exhibits an individual falling from their seat about 5 seconds into the journey’s drop, maybe about two-thirds of the best way down, because the journey slowed because it approached the bottom.

The accident remains to be underneath investigation, and the FreeFall journey is closed for now.

ICON Park on Monday mentioned it has demanded that Slingshot droop one other of its rides on the park, the Orlando SlingShot, “till such time as an intensive investigation by the suitable authorities has been accomplished and all events are happy that the rides are secure for the general public,” the park landlord mentioned in a press release.

The video within the participant above is from a earlier report.

The-CNN-Wire
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