14-year-old dies in fall from amusement park ride

A 14-year-old boy died after falling from a free-fall amusement park ride, taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the United States.

The incident occurred at the amusement park at heart of Orlando’s tourist district as officials responded to a call at the Orlando Free Fall ride.

The teen was identified as Tyre Sampson, who was visiting central Florida from Missouri with a friend’s family and a man who witnessed what happened told emergency officials that Sampson seemed to slip out of his seat when the ride braked as it approached the bottom.

“Bam, went straight through his chair and dropped,” the man said on the 911 call. “It was the biggest smack I ever heard in my life. I seen him hit the ground.”

Another eye-witnesses told the 911 that Sampson was facedown, wasn’t responsive and appeared to have broken his arms and legs. Another man told a 911 dispatcher that the teen had no pulse.

Detectives investigating the death will look into whether it was intentional or accidental, said Orange County Sheriff John Mina. “It appears to be just a terrible tragedy,” Mina said. “We will see moving forward what that results in.”

Meanwhile, The Free Fall ride and an adjacent ride, the Sling Shot, have been closed indefinitely and the company which operates them said that they are cooperating with all other investigations at this time to get to the bottom of what happened.