March 17th 2023.
The mother of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson refused to accept the nightmare at Orlando's ICON Park, so she took action. According FOX News, Nekia Dodd entered into an undisclosed settlement with the amusement park and the proprietor of the Orlando FreeFall ride, the ride where Sampson had his fatal fall. Moreover, they all agreed to have the ride disassembled. Dodd's lawyer publicized the news on Wednesday.
Dodd's son became the subject of media attention when footage showed him plunging nearly 400 feet from his seat in the moments after the ride initiated. Dodd worked indefatigably to have the ride taken apart, which has been closed since the terrible incident last March.
“My son took his last breath on this ride, so it’s heartbreaking, it’s devastating, it’s a feeling I hope no other parent will ever have to go through after this ride
comes down,” Dodd said. “When he passed, I wasn’t there for him.”
The ride was referred to as “the world’s tallest freestanding drop tower.”
An investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services found that the seats on the ride inclined 30 degrees before the gondola was released in a free fall that would reach 4Gs. The ride then broke apart approximately 100 feet above the ground.
The seat Sampson occupied had a proximity sensor that “was manually loosened, adjusted, and tightened in order to allow a restraint opening of near 7 inches.
As per CNN, the ride’s weight limit was at 287 pounds, with Tyre weighing at 383 pounds. Nevertheless, a lawsuit filed by his family alleges that there was not a weight limit sign or scales at the site.
“We are pleased that a settlement has been reached,” Trevor Arnold, the attorney for the ride’s owner, declared. “We also continue to support Sen. Geraldine Thompson in her efforts to make the ‘Tyre Sampson bill’ state law.”
The bill would necessitate amusement rides to have permanent additional safety regulations before rides open, in addition to providing extra training to operators and additional oversight from the state.
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