THE 14-year-old boy who fell to his death after slipping off the world’s tallest drop ride at Orlando’s Icon Park in March died from blunt force trauma, an autopsy report has revealed.
The report says Tyre Sampson, 14, sustained extensive injuries to his head, neck, and torso as well as internal injuries.
The medical examiner’s office ruled the teen’s death an accident months after his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Icon Park, the Slingshot Group, its associated companies, the manufacturers and the contractors.
The report confirmed Tyre weighed 383 pounds and was more than 6 feet tall, which exceeds the ride’s maximum rider weight limit of 287lbs, per WESH 2.
In April, a Florida Department of Agriculture report indicated Tyre slipped through the gap between the seat and safety harness.
The field investigation confirmed that the ride operator made manual adjustments to the ride’s harness, resulting in it being unsafe.
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“This report confirmed that manual adjustments had been made to the sensor [of] the seat in question that allowed the harness-to-restraint opening to be almost double that of the normal restraint opening range,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said at the time.
Fried added that the improper adjustments allowed the safety lights in Tyre’s seat to illuminate, allowing the ride to operate despite the teen not being adequately secured in his seat.
However, an accident report obtained by CNN revealed that the harness was locked when the drop ride came to a halt.
It stated: “Harness was still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped.”
The Slingshot Group of Companies, which owns the ride, confirmed that Tyre was in a harness following the tragedy.
Tyre had visited Icon Park in Orlando from Missouri with friends on spring break. He boarded the Free Fall ride and was sent over 400 feet in the air when he fell from his seat.
He was pronounced dead from traumatic injuries.
In a harrowing exchange obtained by The Sun, a caller can be heard telling Fire Rescue units that the ride’s staff “didn’t secure the seatbelt on him.”
When the 911 dispatcher asks if Tyre was awake, the distraught caller graphically explains how the teen’s “arms and feet are broken.”
“Um, I’m not sure. They’re saying he’s breathing, but he’s not responsive. It looks like his arms are broken and his legs.”
The caller claims: “I don’t know from where he fell. They [ICON park staff] didn’t secure the seatbelt on him.”
In a second heart-wrenching 911 call, the caller explained that Tyre “was gone.”
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They said: “The ride was going, and during the middle of the ride, the guy just came off.”
The caller said the teen was “face down and “not breathing,” adding there was blood “everywhere”.
