A 14-year-old boy has died after falling from the Free Fall ride at ICON Park in Orlando, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.It happened around 11 p.m. on Thursday.The boy was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital, where he died from his injuries. He was identified as Tyre Sampson, who was visiting Orlando with his family from Missouri.A video aired by NBC Today appears to show ride passengers discussing issues with seat restraints on Thursday night. The ride is then seen heading up the tower before someone is later seen falling from the ride.”We operate the ride with all the safety precautions in mind. Everything is in place. And this is why we’re doing this investigation. We are working with those people investigating at this point,” said John Stine, sales director for the Slingshot Group which operates the ride. Free Fall and Sling Shot, an adjacent ride run, will be closed indefinitely. ICON Park’s Free Fall is the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower, and the ride reaches about 75 miles per hour. The ride opened late last year and stands at 430-feet tall. It holds 30 passengers that are rotated around the tower and tilted towards the ground before entering free fall. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings issued the following statement, “I offer my deepest condolences for the family of the 14-year-old boy who died following the tragic incident at Icon Park. I look to receiving more information about what happened in the incident and what will be done to prevent it from ever happening again. The Florida Department of Agriculture and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigations will bring clarity to the circumstances and next steps.”Orange County Sheriff John Mina held a news conference about the incident, which you can watch in full below:OCSO and the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services are investigating the incident, and no criminal charges have been filed at this time.Another incident at ICON Park in September 2020 left one worker dead after falling from the StarFlyer attraction. That worker fell about 50-60 feet. StarFlyer is a 450-foot tall tower that spins riders around at about 45 miles per hour.911 calls released 911 calls released Friday afternoon reveal the sheer terror in the voices of those in the area when the fall happened Thursday night. Those calls flooded dispatchers in the moments following the accident in the heart of Orlando’s busy tourist district.“The thing went down to drop, and when it got closer to the bottom, when it hit the breaks, the guy fell right out of the seat. Bam! It was the biggest smack I’ve ever heard in my life,” one caller said. “He’s face down. He has blood on his feet,” another caller said. “They’re saying he’s breathing, but he’s not responsive. It looks like his arms are broken.”“When he fell, was he up off the ground?” the operator asked.“Yeah, he was up, he was on the ride already,” the caller said. “The ride was going, and during the middle of the ride, the guy just came off,” a third caller said.Some of the people calling mentioned the victim was heavy. When the operator mentioned medics would perform CPR on him, a caller replied: “He’s about 300 pounds. He’s hard to lift.”The Associated Press contributed to this article.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
A 14-year-old boy has died after falling from the Free Fall ride at ICON Park in Orlando, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
It happened around 11 p.m. on Thursday.
The boy was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital, where he died from his injuries. He was identified as Tyre Sampson, who was visiting Orlando with his family from Missouri.
A video aired by NBC Today appears to show ride passengers discussing issues with seat restraints on Thursday night. The ride is then seen heading up the tower before someone is later seen falling from the ride.
“We operate the ride with all the safety precautions in mind. Everything is in place. And this is why we’re doing this investigation. We are working with those people investigating at this point,” said John Stine, sales director for the Slingshot Group which operates the ride. Free Fall and Sling Shot, an adjacent ride run, will be closed indefinitely.
ICON Park’s Free Fall is the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower, and the ride reaches about 75 miles per hour. The ride opened late last year and stands at 430-feet tall. It holds 30 passengers that are rotated around the tower and tilted towards the ground before entering free fall.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings issued the following statement, “I offer my deepest condolences for the family of the 14-year-old boy who died following the tragic incident at Icon Park. I look to receiving more information about what happened in the incident and what will be done to prevent it from ever happening again. The Florida Department of Agriculture and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigations will bring clarity to the circumstances and next steps.”
Orange County Sheriff John Mina held a news conference about the incident, which you can watch in full below:
OCSO and the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services are investigating the incident, and no criminal charges have been filed at this time.
Another incident at ICON Park in September 2020 left one worker dead after falling from the StarFlyer attraction. That worker fell about 50-60 feet. StarFlyer is a 450-foot tall tower that spins riders around at about 45 miles per hour.
911 calls released
911 calls released Friday afternoon reveal the sheer terror in the voices of those in the area when the fall happened Thursday night.
Those calls flooded dispatchers in the moments following the accident in the heart of Orlando’s busy tourist district.
“The thing went down to drop, and when it got closer to the bottom, when it hit the breaks, the guy fell right out of the seat. Bam! It was the biggest smack I’ve ever heard in my life,” one caller said.
“He’s face down. He has blood on his feet,” another caller said. “They’re saying he’s breathing, but he’s not responsive. It looks like his arms are broken.”
“When he fell, was he up off the ground?” the operator asked.
“Yeah, he was up, he was on the ride already,” the caller said.
“The ride was going, and during the middle of the ride, the guy just came off,” a third caller said.
Some of the people calling mentioned the victim was heavy. When the operator mentioned medics would perform CPR on him, a caller replied: “He’s about 300 pounds. He’s hard to lift.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
