Parents of teen boy suing manufacturer, owners of Florida amusement park ride after fatal fall

The parents of Tyre Sampson, a 14-year-old boy who fell off a ride at ICON park in Florida last month, filed a lawsuit Monday against more than 10 companies, seeking more than $30,000 in damages under the state’s Wrongful Death act.

The lawsuit filed by Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson in Florida’s Orange County 9th Judicial Circuit Court names ICON Park as well as several manufacturers of the ride the boy fell off. It also includes the operators and owners of the ride, the Slingshot Group.

Dodd and Yarnell Sampson are demanding a trial by jury and are suing for personal suffering caused by the death of their son as well as medical care and funeral arrangement costs.

The lawsuit argues the involved parties failed to follow safety guidelines; train employees properly; post warnings about height and weight restrictions; and provide adequate safety harnesses, among a long list of other accusations.

“Tyre was a fourteen-year-old young boy who was an honor-roll student and football player,” the lawsuit reads. “Despite his prowess on the football field, he was known as a kind-hearted person who cared about others. Tyre had a long and prosperous life in front of him that was cut short by this tragic event.”

The Hill has reached out to ICON Park, Slingshot Group and other defendants named in this report.

The lawsuit comes after an April 13 state-commissioned report from Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis determined there was no mechanical failure on the ride. Rather, a manual mistake was made when someone adjusted the harness proximity sensor, creating an expanded gap that Sampson slipped through.

The report’s authors cautioned the findings were preliminary. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said an investigation is continuing.

Sampson, from Missouri, was visiting the park with teammates from his local football team.

The Slingshot Group suspended the Free Fall ride following Sampson’s death. ICON Park has also pushed to suspend another ride from the operators pending safety investigations.

“We continue to grieve the passing of Tyre Sampson and our thoughts are with his family and friends. This was the saddest day in the history of ICON Park and we’re working hard to make sure this never happens again,” ICON Park said in a statement last month.

The Slingshot Group is one of several ride operators named in the lawsuit along with Extreme Amusement Rides and High Rides.

The family accuses the operators of “manipulating the proximity sensors” and failing to train employees about proper safety guidelines, including height and weight restrictions.

ICON Park separately is accused of advertising and marketing the Free Fall ride despite its known dangers and selling Sampson a ticket to the ride despite his height and weight being over the limit, among other accusations.

The ride’s manufacturers, Keator Construction, Funtime Handels and Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, are also named and accused of negligence for allowing the harness proximity sensors to be adjusted and failing to install mechanisms to stop operations of the ride if a harness restraint comes loose, among other complaints.

National civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is one of the attorneys representing the family, released a statement last month saying he intends “to get answers for Tyre’s grieving family.”

“His family is absolutely devastated,” Crump said. “A fun theme park visit with his football team should not have ended in tragedy.”