The Daily Populous Saturday December 7th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by Mc_Lovin81

The parents of a 14-year-old Missouri boy who fell to his death from a Florida amusement park ride has won a $310 million verdict against the attraction's Austrian builder

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The parents of a 14-year-old Missouri boy who fell to his death from an Orlando amusement park ride in 2022 have won a $310 million verdict against the attraction's Austrian builder.

Late Thursday, the Orange County jury ordered that the manufacturer Funtime pay $155 million each to Tyre Sampson's parents, Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson. He died on March 24, 2022, after falling 70 feet (21 meters) from the Orlando Free Fall ride at Icon Park. The trial lasted only a day as Funtime never appeared in court to defend itself.

Icon Park, which rented the ride's space to Orlando Slingshot, the ride's owner and operator, had already settled with Sampson's family for an undisclosed amount.

“The jury’s decision confirms what we have long argued: Tyre’s death was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to prioritize safety over profits,” the family's lawyers, Ben Crump and Natalie Jackson, said in a statement. “The ride’s manufacturers neglected their duty to protect passengers, and (Thursday's) outcome ensures they face the consequences."

The family will now have to seek an order from an Austrian court to collect the damages.

Funtime did not respond to an email sent to its headquarters Friday seeking comment. The company's website shows that it manufactures thrill rides that throw, drop and spin passengers at high speeds and from tall elevations, including attractions named Vomatron, Sling Shot and Chaos Pendle.

Sampson, a football standout who stood 6 foot, 2 inches tall (1.9 meters) and weighed 380 pounds (172 kilograms), was visiting Orlando on spring break from the St. Louis area when he went with friends to the downtown amusement park.

They rode the Orlando Free Fall, which placed 30 riders in seats attached to a tower, secured them with a shoulder harness and then dropped them 430 feet (131 meters). It didn't have seat belts, something most drop rides have as an additional safety measure.

Because of Sampson's size, the harness didn't lock properly and he was ejected from his seat when the ride braked 70 feet from the ground.

His parents argued that Orlando Slingshot and Funtime should have warned their son about the risks of someone his size going on the ride and didn’t provide an appropriate restraint system. Adding seat belts would have cost $660.

The state ordered the ride closed after the accident and it never reopened. It is now being demolished.

This version corrects that the ride is owned by Slingshot Group, not Icon Park.

splitwigged on December 6th, 2024 at 22:05 UTC »

It would have cost $22 per seat to install seat belts for a grand total of $660... Which they declined to do. Wtf man...

electricity_is_life on December 6th, 2024 at 21:53 UTC »

Missing from this article is that an investigation showed the park had intentionally modified the restraints so that the ride could operate even if they weren't closed fully. I'm glad the payment amount ended up being so high. Groups that own/operate these kinds of rides need to understand the seriousness of what they're doing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon_Park#Operations

Youwannasitonmyface on December 6th, 2024 at 21:46 UTC »

I forgot all about that, the poor kid. Idk why they allowed him on there. Hope the family will be able to heal from this