Exactly a month ago today, Tyre Sampson, 14, of St. Louis died after falling from a drop tower ride at Orlando’s ICON PARK. Now, his parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, TMZ reports.
Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson have filed a wrongful death suit and will be represented by Benjamin Crump. They feel their son, who was six foot and five inches and over 300-pounds should’ve never been allowed to get on the ride.
According to TMZ, Tyre’s parents are suing ICON Park and associates, which also includes the creators and operators of the free-fall ride.
They’re claiming the parties involved were negligent. The suit says there was no signage to discourage people from getting on who shouldn’t. The parents also claim that the people working that day didn’t say anything to prevent people who shouldn’t be on the ride from not getting on.
Because of this, the parents feel Tyre got on the ride thinking everything was fine but it was not.
The family also say the ride itself wasn’t safe, and rides that are similar have a shoulder harness and a seat belt. But the ride in question did not have a seat belt. The family believes this is what contributed to him being ejected out of his seat.
The parents are asking for damages and a jury trial before a judge.
If you recall, Tyre fell from nearly 100-foot height and tragically died. After the incident, Tyre’s father, Yarnell, spoke with Orlando 35 and stated his son “was panicking when he was going up.”
He also stated that his son told his friends, who were also on the ride, that he was feeling uncomfortable.
Yarnell went on to say he was going to do what he could to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
This should never happen to anyone else’s child ever again, and if I have anything to do with this, it will not happen ever again.
