Samson tire, he was 14 and the main star of his school’s football team. The boy who was in eighth grade and dreamed of dedicating himself to the NFL, ended abruptly for what he thought would be a fun ride.
The Missouri teenager went with her entire team to Orlando, where they visited the ICON Park theme park on March 24. Together with his friends climbed into the flashy free fall game Free Fall, without thinking that everything could end in the most dramatic way.
According to the authorities’ report, the boy got involved and the operator did “manual manipulations” on the seat in which Sampson was sitting. The large size of the young man prevented him from positioning himself, so the employee tried to loosen the opening of the harness, apparently to accommodate the 300-pound teenager.
The investigation found that Sampson’s harness opening was “nearly double the opening range of normal locking.”
The teenager appeared to be poorly restrained and unexpectedly fell on deaf ears when the game fell at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
Suspected operator error is the leading cause of Sampson’s death, according to a field investigation report by a forensic engineer released in April. The report showed that the single operator of the FreeFall run, who was not identified, “made manual changes to the ride, which led to it being unsure.”
Sampson’s parents archived youA civil manslaughter lawsuit prosecuting ICON Park and others accused of negligence.
The game will not be set
Orlando Slingshot, who runs the attraction, said decided to dismantle the 430-foot-tall attraction in the wake of Sampson’s death.
“We are devastated by the death of Tire. We listened to the wishes of the Tire family and community and made the decision to take down FreeFall, ”said Orlando Slingshot official Ritchie Armstrong.
The schedule for the dismantling of the game, which was closed by the accident, will be determined pending approval by “all parties involved and regulatory authorities”, the company said.
Orlando Slingshot also plans to create a scholarship in Sampson’s name. to honor his “legacy in the classroom and on the football field,” Armstrong said.
ICON Park said it supports the removal of Orlando FreeFall.
“Tire’s death is a tragedy we will never forget.. As the owner, ICON Park appreciates and appreciates Orlando Slingshot’s decision to remove the attraction, ”ICON Park said in a statement.
This was stated by a lawyer representing Sampson’s mother, Nekia Dodd the game should have been removed “immediately” after the death of the teenager.
“This is not a ride that can be used safely, given the design flaws”, the attorney, Bob Hilliard, said in a statement. “Disassembling the merry-go-round is the right move, even if it should have been done right after Tire’s death.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Sampson’s father, Yarnell Sampson, announced the announcement “long overdue” and that his father has defended “from the day of the death of Tire”.
“The Orlando Free Fall attraction should never have been licensed to operate in such bad conditions”Crump said in a joint statement with Hilliard. “Theme parks, their parent companies and regulatory agencies must do their best to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening to any other family.”
Source: Clarin
