- A 14-year-old boy died after falling from a 430ft high theme park ride at the ICON Park in Florida.
- The maximum weight for the FreeFall ride was 287 pounds. Tyre Sampson was 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 340 pounds.
- A forensic investigator has been hired to understand what just happened.
A 14-year-old boy who died after falling from a 430ft high theme park ride at the ICON Park in Florida might have been too heavy for the ride.
The maximum weight for the FreeFall ride was 287 pounds, according to the manual for the ride. Tyre Sampson was 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 340 pounds, his father, Yarnell Sampson, said, according to the Mail Online.
"Be careful when seeing if large guests fit into the seats. Check that they fit within the contours of the seat and that the bracket fits properly. If this is not so, do not let this person ride," the manual reads.
The mother of a family friend accompanying Sampson spoke to the teenager on FaceTime before he got on the ride, Fox 35 Orlando reported.
She said to the teenager, "Tyre, you go and sit and see if you can fit, and that's what he did, and they said that he could fit," she told the news outlet.
An incident report, seen by CNN and sent from the ride manufacturers to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), stated that the "harness was still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped" and that Sampson came out of his seat.
The teenager came out of the seat when the magnets engaged to slow the ride during the descent, the CNN report says.
His father said "he's a big guy" and his son was not allowed on other rides at the theme park due to his size, reported the MailOnline.
"This one particular ride said, 'We can take you, come on! Get on!' No one else allowed him to get on the ride, so I'm wondering what happened between now and then that made them say, 'Come on, get this ride!' Sampson told Fox35, last week..
Sampson said his son was an honor roll student and aspiring football player who had a bright future.
"We are not going to jump to any conclusions until the information is provided to us and all the facts are known," said Commissioner Nikki Fried, Commissioner of the FDACS, in a press conference.
She added that a forensic investigator had been hired to understand what just happened on March 24.
A woman named Shay Johnson has been widely quoted in the media as Sampson's cousin and has discussed his weight, but it has recently been revealed that the family has never met the woman and does not know who he is.
Dit artikel is oorspronkelijk verschenen op z24.nl