Florida ride where boy fell to his death deemed ‘serious danger to public health’

The state of Florida closed an amusement park ride after a teen fell to his death last month, saying in an order released Monday that it was an “immediate serious danger to public health.”

The Free Fall ride, in which 14-year-old Tyre Sampson died after sliding from his seat, “is considered an immediate serious danger to public health, safety, and welfare, and may not be operated for patron use until it has passed a subsequent inspection by or at the direction of the Department,” according to an order from Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS).

The Free Fall ride was closed on March 25, one day after Sampson died while on the ride, NBC News reported.

Last month, Sampson was with football teammates visiting Florida when he rode on the Free Fall ride at ICON Park in Orlando, Fla. He died while on the rollercoaster after he fell out of his harness, WESH reported.

Sampson’s family attorney, Ben Crump, told WESH that the accident was “completely preventable.”

The development comes as ICON Park urged the operator of the Free Fall ride and another ride to suspend both following the teenager’s death.

“As the landlord at ICON Park, our mission is to provide safe family entertainment. We rely on our tenants to be experts at what they do,” ICON Park said in a statement last Friday.

“In the interests of public safety, ICON Park has demanded that the SlingShot Group suspend not only the operation of Orlando FreeFall, but also the operation of Orlando SlingShot.”

The Hill has reached out to DACS’s Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection for comment.