Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 12:12 pm Post subject: Teen Dies After Fall From Thrill Ride
Teen dies after fall from drop tower ride at Orlando's ICON PARK, authorities say
Quote:
A teenager fell to his death while riding an Orlando-area drop tower attraction, according to officials with the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
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According to ICON Park's website, the Orlando Free Fall stands at 430 feet, "making it the world’s tallest freestanding drop tower." The ride can accommodate 30 riders when loaded to capacity.
This is just a horrible story. I would have thought the safety features of the ride would have made this impossible.....such as the ride not being able to begin until sensors indicated every harness was secure. The teenager (Tyre Sampson) was a very large 14 year old.....as I saw reports that he was in the 6'5" range and over 350 lbs......not sure if his size was related to the malfunction.
I am attaching a link to the video of the accident if you desire to see how it unfolded. I warn you that while there is nothing bloody or anything captured in the video, you will see something and hear something that will likely be difficult to forget.
It appears as the ride comes to a rapid slow at less than 100 feet in the air after the long drop, the teen was not secured in the ride and continued a rapid fall to the concrete. As the video begins, you can see the young man all the way to the left of view waiting to elevate. It is hard to be sure, but his harness does not appear to be horizontal over his shoulders which is often the level it must get to lock secure. The next 3+ minutes of video is just the ride climbing to 430 Feet....then the tragedy takes place shortly after the 3:30 mark.
They are questioning if the boy should have been allowed to ride the ride in the first place.
His father in the video said that other rides don't let him ride due to his size. 6'5, 340lbs+ but yet this ride allowed him on.
Others in that video questioned the safety of the ride. One girl asks where's the seatbelt and the staff says there isn't one. Seems like they only have that shoulder harness.
Not gonna watch but I bet the family will get a large settlement. Looks like somebody at the park screwed up.
Reminds me of some of the rides at theme parks where theres just a bar that goes over the person and secures them onto the ride. Seems a bit sketchy if that thing fails.
Not gonna watch but I bet the family will get a large settlement. Looks like somebody at the park screwed up.
Reminds me of some of the rides at theme parks where theres just a bar that goes over the person and secures them onto the ride. Seems a bit sketchy if that thing fails.
That's what this was. Only that shoulder harness, and seems like he was too big for the ride so it never "clicked" into place.
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 5:40 pm Post subject:
LongBeachPoly wrote:
lakersken80 wrote:
Not gonna watch but I bet the family will get a large settlement. Looks like somebody at the park screwed up.
Reminds me of some of the rides at theme parks where theres just a bar that goes over the person and secures them onto the ride. Seems a bit sketchy if that thing fails.
That's what this was. Only that shoulder harness, and seems like he was too big for the ride so it never "clicked" into place.
I know nothing about the engineering of rides, but it seems odd that in 2022 we would still be relying so much on a college aged adult making $10ish an hour to be responsible for everyone being secure on a ride that elevates 430 feet above the ground. I would have thought there were sensors that picked up if something was not secured or proper....and literally would not allow the ride to operate until corrected. I also saw a report that claimed there is no camera's on the ride as riders elevate or arrive near the top. If true, that makes no sense to me.....why not have camera's so the operators can monitor the riders all the way up? As you can see on the video....it takes several minutes to reach the top which would be more than enough time for things to go wrong.
Personally, I have never rode this ride at this park, but I have rode this ride at other parks and it is maybe the only common theme park ride that scares me. I can take any coaster, any direction at nearly any height.....but something about this ride as it spins around to the top....then that click when it locks in at the top and your feet are just dangling above the ground for 10 to 15 seconds waiting for the drop. The last time I encountered the ride at a park....I just said no because like I said, it causes me legit fear.
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 64455 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:23 pm Post subject:
U.S. NEWS
Mother of 14-year-old who died after falling off ride in Orlando reaches settlement in wrongful death suit March 16, 2023, 7:17 AM PDT LINK
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He fell at least 100 feet onto the hard pavement from the ride, which had no seat belts, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed one month after his death.
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Orlando Slightshot announced that the Free Fall ride would be taken down last year and the dismantling process started this week.
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Joined: 07 May 2014 Posts: 13247 Location: Boulder ;)
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:36 pm Post subject:
What kind of stupid does it take to not put seat belts on the ride
What kind of stupid does it take to buy a ride without seat belts and then
put people on it for a couple dollars each ....
This is as bad as hiring inexperienced gunkeepers on your movie set and they give you a loaded gun and you kill someone with it
Hopefully her wrongful death suit included the company that builds a carnival ride with no seat belts or even offers to sell it without seat belts
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