Tire Sampson, 14, of St. Louis, was visiting ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, as part of an American football program. He fell from the restrictions of the Orlando Free Fall and was rushed to hospital, where he died Thursday night. The teenager boarded the ride with two friends, but began to feel uncomfortable as the ride climbed to its highest point. Speaking days after his death, Yarnell Sampson’s father told Fox 35 that Tire “panicked as he climbed.” A teenager dies after falling from a tower walk in ICON PARK, Orlando “When the route took off, that was when he felt uncomfortable,” he said. The teenager started going “crazy” and asking what was going on, before saying to his friends: “I do not know dude, if I can not do it, tell mom and dad that I loved them.” Mr. Sampson asked why his 6-foot 5-inch son was allowed to walk and asked for answers as to why he went ahead. He said: “This particular walk said ‘we can take you, come, go up’”. No one else allowed him to go for a walk, so I wonder what happened now and when he made them say “come on, go on this walk”. “This should never happen again to anyone’s child and if I have anything to do with it, it will never happen again.” Thierry was an honorary student with a bright future ahead of him and had hopes of playing in the NFL, according to his family. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said, based on preliminary investigations, the incident appeared to be a “terrible tragedy”, as everything “seemed to be okay and normal” before the trip. Sheriff John Mina said they have spoken to witnesses and officials as part of the ongoing investigation. The attraction, which opened three months ago, has a free fall of 400 feet (Orlando Sentinel) He said there had been no previous reports of problems with the Orlando Freefall attraction. The route opened in December and is described as “the tallest independent fall tower in the world”. The riders climb the tower, lean forward and then fall freely most of the way at 75 mph. The seats – which inspectors were seen analyzing after the incident – have a belt above the shoulder with two handles at chest height.
