Family of Tyre Sampson, the boy who died after slipping out of Florida amusement park ride, awarded $310million by jury

The family of a 14-year-old boy who died after falling from a 400-foot amusement ride has been awarded a $310 million payout by a Florida jury.

Tire Sampson was more than 100 pounds over the weight limit when he slipped through the safety harness during the FreeFall ride at ICON Park in Orlando in March 2022.

His family sued Austrian manufacturer Funtime Handels GMBH, arguing that his death was caused by safety errors and negligence by the ride’s operators and creator.

After a jury awarded damages this week, the family’s attorney, Ben Crump, said: “Tyre’s death was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to put safety before profit.”

Tire was on vacation with friends from his American football team over spring break 2022 when he got on the ride, despite telling his friends he didn’t know if he could “make it.”

In a shocking and graphic video, Tyre’s body is seen slipping from the safety harness and falling to the ground.

A 911 call revealed that Sampson had landed face down, was unresponsive and appeared to have broken his arms and legs.

An autopsy later determined that Sampson died of blunt force trauma and his death was ruled an “accident.”

The 6-foot-4 football player was turned away from other attractions because of his 383-pound weight while visiting from St. Louis during spring break.

The maximum passenger weight for the ride is 287 pounds, according to the service manual.

Tire, who was known to Big Tick among his friends and was a rising high school football player, appeared to come out of the seat just as magnets were activated to slow the ride during the descent.

In the viral video that circulated after his death, a ride operator could be heard asking another if they had “checked” the seat belt, to which they said the light was on, indicating that this was the case, but it was later revealed that they had put that aside.

Tire’s family filed the lawsuit a month later, and last year settled with the two other defendants in the case: the ride’s owner, Eagle Drop Slingshot, and ICON Park.

Last March, Nekia Dodd Tire’s mother visited the site with her daughter and niece to watch the demolition of the FreeFall attraction.

ICON Park said in a statement that they “agreed with the owner’s decision to dismantle the attraction and our thoughts are with the family as they witness this important milestone.”

“When he passed away, I wasn’t there for him,” his mother said of her son’s death. “I had to do this,” Ms. Dodd previously said, referring to the lawsuit.

An initial report from third-party engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said the sensors were manually adjusted during the ride to double the size of the seat belt opening on two seats, causing Sampson to not be properly secured.

But the 911 call last March showed they “didn’t put a seatbelt on him.”

Since her son’s death, Mrs Dodd has worked to get the FreeFall attraction demolished.

“This ride, as you all know, is a death trap. There is no other way to describe it,” her lawyer said last year.

Ms Dodd also helped create regulations to require rides over 30 meters to have both a seat belt and a harness.

In August 2022, State Representative Geraldine Thompson also announced that she would introduce the “Tire Sampson Law” during the next legislative session to improve rider safety on amusement rides.

“A seat belt would have saved Tire’s life,” the attorney said. The FreeFall ride was not equipped with a seat belt, only a harness.

“If you go more than 50 yards, it’s necessary,” Nodd agreed.

‘I’m still angry. I am happy, I am everything,” she told the crowd of reporters. ‘I’m completely done with emotions.’

The mother has created a foundation in her son’s name that will help with athletic programs since he was a football player and was “on his way to the NFL.”