14-year-old boy dies after falling from ride at Florida amusement park

A 14-year-old boy died Thursday evening after falling from a ride at an amusement park in Orlando, Fla., authorities said. 

Police responded to an emergency 911 call from ICON Park reporting that someone had fallen from the Orlando Free Fall ride just after 11 p.m. on Thursday, NBC News reported.

The teen, who was identified as Tyre Sampson, was transported to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where he died from the accident.

“It appears to be a terrible tragedy,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina said, NBC reported. “Our prayers and thoughts are with the family. We can’t imagine what they’re going through.”

Sampson, who was from Missouri, was visiting Florida with teammates from his football team, his uncle Carl Sampson told the outlet.

“It is hard to believe. He was just 14 years old,” Sampson said. “It was very tragic that it happened. He was too young.” 

Mina said that according to witnesses and videos of the incident, there is nothing to prove at this point that anything was wrong with the ride. 

“Words can’t say how we feel,” John Stine, director of sales and marketing for the company that owns and operates the ride, told NBC. “Our hearts go out to the family of this young man, and that’s all we can say at this time.” 

Stine said that Sampson was wearing his safety harness while on the Orlando Free Fall ride, which stands at 430 feet and can hold up to 30 people.

“We operate the ride with all the safety precaution in mind,” Stine told NBC, adding that the ride is currently closed. 

Mina said the investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed. The sheriff’s office is working to determine whether Sampson’s death was an accident, NBC noted. 

A spokesperson with Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which will ultimately determine whether the ride’s safety was jeopardized, told NBC that officials will physically inspect the ride on Friday.