*The parents of Tyre Sampson, the 14-year-old who died on an Orlando amusement park ride, have hired famed civil rights attorney attorneys Ben Crump and Bob Hilliard to take legal action against ICON Park.
Sampson fell to his death on the Orlando Free Fall ride on Thursday night, and the tragic incident was filmed and shared on social media. Sampson’s father said he learned of his son’s death online.
“I wish I was there to tell him I love him. That I’m sorry. For him to lose his life. So young, and I wish it was me,” Yarnell Sampson said in an interview with WESH 2. “I want to know what happened to my son. I want to know why my son is in a white bag, having to get shipped back home. He walked there. Why he can’t walk back? I want answers from everybody. Who all was involved in that?”
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The memorial for Tyre Sampson has grown significantly since last night. Many people are coming to bring flowers, footballs, teddy bears and share their condolences ???????? https://t.co/wVeQRoX1cH pic.twitter.com/JR6gH0RWz7
— Stephanie Buffamonte (@StephBuffamonte) March 26, 2022
As reported by TMZ, “Tyre was a gifted athlete with the potential to earn a scholarship to a Division 1 football program … that’s the insight from Brandon Gregory, a football coach at East St. Louis High School, where Tyre was set to play ball this fall,” the outlet writes.
WESH 2 writes, “Sampson was a football standout: 6-foot-5, over 300 pounds. His coach said he had an incredibly bright future.”
The teen’s father told the outlet he found out that his son had died when he saw the viral video of the fall. The clip shows Tyre slipping out of the harness on the ride and hitting the ground.
“It felt like somebody hit me so hard in my stomach. I just lost, I lost, lost wind. And the pain behind it could never be taken away, and sorry’s not gonna take it back and no monies, no nothing in the world to replace the young man. And it’s just sad, a young man’s bright future was taken away from him over a ride, an amusement park,” Yarnell Sampson said.
Everybody showing the video how this young man died. I want to show a video how he lived. ( I did not know him personally) My condolences to the family and friends of Tyre Sampson everyone knew him as “Big Tick ” R.I.P ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/9wBkUno7De
— ❤️ Lisa ❤️ (@wilkerson036) March 26, 2022
Tyre’s stood 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighed 340 pounds. Hilliard said Tyre was turned away from rides at the amusement park because of his size.
“He absolutely would have accepted if they said to him, respectfully, I’m sorry, but you can’t ride it. He would be home right now getting ready for football practice,” said Hilliard. “That’s their responsibility because there’s no way for him to know. If they tell him it’s safe for him, he trusts that they’re experienced enough to know if it is safe for him.”
The ride at ICON Park will reportedly remain closed as the investigation continues into what caused the fatal fall.
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