Orlando Theme Park Will Destroy Ride That Killed 14-Yr-Old Tyre Sampson

An Orlando amusement park ride will be demolished after 14-year-old Tyre Sampson slipped out of its metal safety harness on March 24, falling to his death from the 430-foot-tall drop tower in front of horrified onlookers. “We are devastated by Tyre’s death,” CEO of Orlando Slingshot Ritchie Armstrong said in a statement announcing the ride’s demolition. “In addition, Orlando Slingshot will honor Tyre and his legacy in the classroom and on the football field by creating a scholarship in his name.” Sampson was reportedly visiting ICON Park over Spring Break and had to be manually adjusted into the ride, one of the few attractions that accepted the 383-pound football player, pushing him nearly 100 pounds over the weight limit. “Tyre was too big to have been on the ride. There is no doubt about that,” Ben Crump, the Sampson family’s attorney, told FOX 35 Orlando. “The weight limit was 286 pounds, but they did not follow their own restrictions.”