NEEDLESS TRAGEDY

Mom Says Her Son’s Amusement Park Free Fall Ride Death ‘Should Have Been Prevented’

Tyre Sampson, 14, was killed when he fell from the Orlando ride as it plummeted to the ground.

The mother of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson, who fell to his death from a Florida amusement park drop-tower ride, has spoken out about her son’s death for the first time. Nekia Dodd told Good Morning America: “This could have been prevented. It should have been prevented. As an operator, you have a job to check those rides. To be honest though, that was not done. And if it was done, it should have been done more than once.” Tyre died March 24 when he slipped out of a harness on the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park, and an investigation subsequently found the sensors on the seat were unsafely modified. The family have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, accusing the park, ride operator, and manufacturer of negligence.