14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell to his death while he was on an Orlando amusement park ride with his friends.
According to a preliminary accident report, the locking mechanism on the teen’s seat was working and he may have been too big for the ride.
“When the magnets engaged, the patron came out of the seat. Harness was still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped,” reads part of the report filed by the operator.
The report also lists three witnesses who were also employees. They were likely the ones who could be heard on a viral footage asking if lights were triggered to show that the seats had been properly locked.
One asks: “Didn’t you check it?”
A second person responds: “Yeah, the light was on.”
A third employee says: “We both… we checked it.”
The ride’s operating manual says that attendants must also manually check the restraints and pulling on it to make sure that it is locked.
In addition, the ride will not ascend unless all riders are locked into their seats.
There were suggestions that the teenager was over the weight limit allowed by the ride.
According to Sampson’s father Yarnell, the 14-year-old weighed 340lbs. However, the ride’s operations and maintenance manual state that the maximum weight limit was 287lbs.
“Be careful when seeing if large guests fit into the seats. Check that they fit within the contours of the seat and the bracket fits properly. If this is not so — Do not let this person ride,” the manual reads.
Sampson’s cousin, Shay, said that the teen had already been turned away from two other rides.
“e tried the (FreeFall) ride, they let him get on, but I don’t understand why would ya’ll? He can’t ride those two, but ya’ll let him get on (FreeFall)?” Shay said.
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