ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The parents of the teen who died after falling from an Orlando thrill ride last month are seeking justice for their son's tragic death through a lawsuit filed Monday in Orange County.
Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson, the parents of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson, are suing several companies related to the Orlando FreeFall tower ride, including ICON Park and ride operating company The Slingshot Group.
“The defendants in Tyre’s case showed negligence in a multitude of ways,” Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Tyre's father, wrote in a statement.
The civil lawsuit makes a number of claims about the events leading up to the teen's death. One is that most free-fall rides have both a shoulder harness and a seatbelt but ICON Park's ride, which is considered the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower, only had an over-the-shoulder harness.
The complaint goes on to say that seatbelts for this ride would have cost $22 per seat for a combined total of $660.
The lawsuit also claims that no height or weight restrictions were posted on the ticket counter and that Tyre, who was approximately 6-feet, 2-inches tall and 380 pounds, was not told he was too big to get on the ride.
For context, the ride's operations and maintenance manual — to which it must adhere — lists the "maximum passenger weight" as 130kg, or roughly 287 pounds.
The complaint includes information revealed in a report last week that improper manual adjustments were made to the FreeFall tower ride ahead of the teen's tragic death, including modifications that allowed the ride to operate without Sampson's harness properly closed.
Sampson’s mother, Nekia Dodd, will reportedly address the public for the first time on Tuesday in St. Louis, according to The Haggard Law Firm, which is representing her in this case.
"From the ride and seat manufacturers and the installer to the owners and operators, the defendants had more than enough chances to enact safeguards, such as seatbelts, that could have prevented Tyre’s death. They didn’t, and their poor decisions resulted in deadly consequences for a promising young man and lifelong pain for his family. We will hold these defendants accountable for their failures so that a tragedy like this never has to happen again," Crump wrote in a statement.
The teen was visiting from Missouri with a friend's family when he fell from the Orlando FreeFall ride. He would later die at the hospital from his injuries, according to authorities.
The Orlando FreeFall ride opened in December 2021. According to a news release, the thrill ride stands at 430 feet, "making it the world's tallest free-standing drop tower."
The park says the ride holds 30 people. The ride rotates around the gigantic tower as it rises to the top. Once riders reach the top, the ride tilts forward 30 degrees and faces the ground for a "brief moment before free-falling nearly 400 feet at speeds reaching over 75 mph."
The ride will remain closed as authorities continue to investigate.
Attorney Trevor Arnold, who represents The Slingshot Group that operated the ride, said the organization has fully cooperated with the state investigation and will continue to do so.
"Orlando Slingshot continues to fully cooperate with the State during its investigation, and we will continue to do so until it has officially concluded," Arnold wrote in a statement. "We reiterate that all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided by the manufacturer of the ride were followed. We look forward to working with the Florida legislature to implement change in the industry and we are also supportive of the concepts outlined by State Representative Geraldine Thompson to make changes to state law through the ‘Tyre Sampson Bill’ to prevent a tragic accident like this from ever happening again."