Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is bringing in ride experts to help state investigators uncover the cause of a fatal fall at ICON Park.Tyre Sampson, 14 fell off the FreeFall ride last week, raising questions about employee training and the design and operation of the ride.Democrat Geraldine Thompson represents the district that includes all of the rides at ICON Park and along I-Drive. Thompson wants to see changes too.She says the result of this tragic case may be new laws aimed at keeping you safe.“No family should have to go through what they are going through right now,” Fried said.Fried announced that her Division of Consumer Services has hired a forensic engineering firm to assist in the investigation of the accident March 24.WESH 2 EXCLUSIVE: Man who filmed teen’s deadly fall from FreeFall describes horrific ICON Park accident“We are going to do everything in our power, including potentially increasing our power, to make sure that something like this never happens again,” Fried said.Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis of Tallahassee is the same firm hired in 2018, after the Sand Blaster roller coaster accident in Daytona Beach in 2018 tossed two people out of their vehicles, causing serious injuries. Orlando lawmaker Geraldine Thompson is promising to file a bill in Tyre’s name to improve safety standards based on the results of the investigation.For example, despite the ride manufacturer saying safety belts were not required on Free Fall, she thinks that may be a good idea.“You and I drive cars that have seat belts and airbags. So I think redundancy is a good thing… And it may be that the investigation will point out that not only the harness but an additional safeguard which would have been a seat belt could have saved Tyre’s life,” Thompson said.“And I think this is not only a case of not only gross negligence but possible punitive damages here,” said Michael Haggard, an attorney for Sampson’s family.RELATED: Deadly ICON Park accident: Investigation into Free Fall reveals ride lacks seatbelts, has unique safety measuresHaggard’s experts are reviewing safety issues previously raised by WESH 2 Investigates — the fact that Tyre’s weight exceeded the limits set by the ride maker, the fact that the ride operators had been trained less than six weeks prior to the accident and the possibility that warning systems may not have alerted ride operators if Tyre’s shoulder harness was not locked in place.“Not only is the family and the mother in utter shock and disbelief, she’s lost her boy. But every witness I have talked with is absolutely suffering from trauma!” Haggard said.Fried’s department may decide to issue penalties, against the ride owners, and can even shut down rides and impound them if they are deemed to be too dangerous.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is bringing in ride experts to help state investigators uncover the cause of a fatal fall at ICON Park.
Tyre Sampson, 14 fell off the FreeFall ride last week, raising questions about employee training and the design and operation of the ride.
Democrat Geraldine Thompson represents the district that includes all of the rides at ICON Park and along I-Drive. Thompson wants to see changes too.
She says the result of this tragic case may be new laws aimed at keeping you safe.
“No family should have to go through what they are going through right now,” Fried said.
Fried announced that her Division of Consumer Services has hired a forensic engineering firm to assist in the investigation of the accident March 24.
WESH 2 EXCLUSIVE: Man who filmed teen’s deadly fall from FreeFall describes horrific ICON Park accident
“We are going to do everything in our power, including potentially increasing our power, to make sure that something like this never happens again,” Fried said.
Quest Engineering and Failure Analysis of Tallahassee is the same firm hired in 2018, after the Sand Blaster roller coaster accident in Daytona Beach in 2018 tossed two people out of their vehicles, causing serious injuries.
Orlando lawmaker Geraldine Thompson is promising to file a bill in Tyre’s name to improve safety standards based on the results of the investigation.
For example, despite the ride manufacturer saying safety belts were not required on Free Fall, she thinks that may be a good idea.
“You and I drive cars that have seat belts and airbags. So I think redundancy is a good thing… And it may be that the investigation will point out that not only the harness but an additional safeguard which would have been a seat belt could have saved Tyre’s life,” Thompson said.
“And I think this is not only a case of not only gross negligence but possible punitive damages here,” said Michael Haggard, an attorney for Sampson’s family.
Haggard’s experts are reviewing safety issues previously raised by WESH 2 Investigates — the fact that Tyre’s weight exceeded the limits set by the ride maker, the fact that the ride operators had been trained less than six weeks prior to the accident and the possibility that warning systems may not have alerted ride operators if Tyre’s shoulder harness was not locked in place.
“Not only is the family and the mother in utter shock and disbelief, she’s lost her boy. But every witness I have talked with is absolutely suffering from trauma!” Haggard said.
Fried’s department may decide to issue penalties, against the ride owners, and can even shut down rides and impound them if they are deemed to be too dangerous.
