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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Ryan Merrifield

'Gentle giant', 14, killed after plunging from seat on 430ft theme park ride

A teenage boy who died after falling from a theme park ride has been named and pictured.

Tyre Sampson, 14, slipped from his seat on the Free Fall - a 430ft tower ride at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, US, which tilts forward before dropping and hits speeds of 75mph.

Friends and family watched helplessly as he plummeted to the ground at around 11pm on Thursday.

The tragic schoolboy - who was holiday - was named by police at a press conference today.

There were no seatbelts on the ride, just the plastic pull-down harnesses which buckle in place between a rider's legs.

In a video clip of the incident, a ride attendant can be heard telling a concerned guest: "There ain't no seatbelts."

Did you witness this incident? Let us know at webnews@mirror.co.uk

Tyre Sampson, 14, died after falling from a ride at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida (Facebook)
Tyre was on holiday with family and friends (Facebook)

A photo of Tyre was taken before the ride went into the air showing him sat with his safety harness unbuckled and not pulled down to fasten him in.

It is not clear if the harness was fully buckled before the ride started or if it became unbuckled mid-ride.

An investigation is underway.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina told reporters at the scene: "It appears to be just a terrible tragedy.

"We will see moving forward what that results in."

Video shows the ride shoot to the top of the tower before Tyre slips to the ground.

A different park worker runs over to the ride attendant and asks: "You didn't check it!?"

An investigation is underway after the incident at the Free Fall ride (Fox)

He insists that he had and she asks again: "Are you sure?"

Tyre's family paid tribute to the "gentle giant" on social media.

His step-mother Wendy said: "Tyre was a respectful gentle giant.

"You will be truly missed son," she added.

It is the second accident at the park in two years. In 2020, a park employee died while working on the StarFlyer ride.

ICON Park on International Drive has not yet commented on the latest tragedy.

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