“That was his dream and he was on his way,” said his stepmother, Wendy Gutten, 59, of Venice. “He had so many scouts watching him. He would become a great football player “. Authorities say 14-year-old Tire Sampson fell from the Orlando Free Fall that opened last year at ICON Park in the city’s tourist area. The free fall ride is 430 feet high and is billed as the tallest free tower in the world, according to the park’s website. It seats 30 passengers as it rises in the air, rotates around the tower and then tilts to the ground before falling into a free fall at speeds above 75 mph. Tire was taken to hospital, where he died, authorities said. The Free Fall route and an adjacent route, the Sling Shot, are closed indefinitely.
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Orange County Sheriff John Mina told reporters Friday that Tire’s death “seems to be just a terrible tragedy.” A video aired Friday on NBC’s “Today” video showed passengers on the route discussing issues with a shoulder strap over Thursday night. Then, the walk started its hike to the tower around 11 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, before seeing anyone later fall from the walk. “We are deeply saddened by what has happened and our hearts go out to this young man’s family,” John Stine, sales manager at Slingshot Group, which owns the ride, told the Associated Press. Wooten and Tire’s father, Yarnell Sampson, said Tire had gone to the amusement park on Thursday with teammates and escorts from the St. John’s football club. Louis Bad Boyz, who were in Orlando for a weekly workout. Thierry Samson, 14, of St. Louis County, died March 24, 2022, on a fun ride in Orlando, Florida. (Family photo) Tire lived in Berkeley with his mother, his father said. Tire was 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 330 pounds and trained to play high school football, but had not yet decided whether to play at Cardinal Ritter College Prep or East St. Louis. Louis High School. The City Garden Montessori School, attended by Tire, sent a letter to parents on Friday saying student counseling would be available Monday when students return from spring break. The school also plans to commemorate Tire, school officials said in the letter. “Tire was a student at City Garden for many years and was a beloved and valued member of our City Garden family. We will miss him very much and our hearts are with his family and friends during this extremely difficult time “, said in the letter Christie Huck, principal and executive director of the school and the principal Crystal Isom. Wooten and Sampson said they had seen videos that had gone viral on the internet with Tire and friends starting their climb and someone noticing that he was not restrained in the seat. They said they were still gathering details about what led to the incident, but learned that the Tire may have been excluded from other ICON rides because it exceeded the size and weight limits. They also said they were learning disturbing details about Tire’s last moments and were juggling calls from lawyers during a Post-Dispatch reporter’s telephone interview with the couple. “What I hear is that his friend was talking to him before the situation happened,” Sampson said. “He said, he does not feel comfortable with the situation, ‘The thing does not push down, you know what I’m saying? And if I do not succeed, tell my mom and dad that I love them. “ Sampson said Tire was his only child and that authorities made arrangements to dump his body back in St. Louis. He and Wooten called Tire a “gentle giant” who made sure to say “master” and “lady” in conversations, shake hands and make eye contact. “He had all the best skills I’ve ever had,” Sampson said. “He was smart. He was a good boy. It was a square. When he focused on this football thing, his grades had to be good enough to play football, and that was all he cared about. “People used to say to him, ‘You have a chance to do it, man,’ and he began to believe it.” The Associated Press contributed information to this report. This story has been updated to correct the name of the school Tire Sampson attended. Browse your afternoon recession with the often common and unbelievable news of the day, made by hand by our online news editors.
