MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The household of the 14-year-old Missouri boy who was tragically killed after falling from an Orlando trip is now submitting a wrongful loss of life lawsuit.
Middle college pupil, Tyre Sampson, was on spring break when he was ejected from the free-fall trip at ICON Park on March twenty fourth.
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The lawsuit was filed Monday in Orange County towards the park, in addition to the trip’s proprietor and producer.
Coral Gables legal professional Michael Haggard is representing Nekia Dodd, the mom of the sufferer. Haggard spoke to CBS 4 over Zoom from Missouri, the place a press convention is scheduled for Tuesday.
“No one thinks they’re going to get this awful call in the first place, that you’ve lost a child,” Haggard mentioned. “But then to describe how this happened: falling more than 100 feet from a ride and dying. How does this happen with all the safety measures we all think are in place when we go on these rides?”
At 430 toes, it’s the tallest free-standing drop tower trip on the earth. According to the lawsuit:
“Once the ride reaches the top, it tilts forward 30 degrees and free falls several hundred feet at speeds of more than 75 mph. Upon coming to a stop, the riders experience a g-force of around 4. To put this into perspective, the g-force experienced by astronauts during shuttle take-off is 3.”
Sampson was 6’2″ and weighed greater than 300 kilos.
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The lawsuit says no peak or weight restrictions had been posted, and there have been no seatbelts– solely an over-the-shoulder harness.
“At any point in time had they done something, like buy a $22 seatbelt, you would have paid for that in 30 seats after the second ride on the first night,” Haggard mentioned. “That’s how simple it could have been.”
Last week, an preliminary report by exterior engineers employed by the Florida Department of Agriculture mentioned that sensors on the trip had been adjusted manually to double the scale of the opening for restraints on two seats, leading to Sampson not being correctly secured.
Attorney Trevor Arnold represents Orlando Slingshot– the corporate that owns, operates, and maintains the trip. He issued an announcement that reads:
“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 ‘Tyree Sampson Bill’ to prevent a tragic accident like this from ever happening again.”
The Orlando Free Fall trip, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty, didn’t expertise any electrical or mechanical failures, the report mentioned.
The report mentioned there have been many different “potential contributions” to the accident and {that a} full assessment of the trip’s design and operations was wanted.
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(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)