Tyre Sampson’s mom chokes up on her ‘emotional’ visit to Orlando amusement park where son lost his life
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: The heartbroken mother of Tyre Sampson, who lost his life in March 2022 after falling from an amusement park ride, has spoken out. Nekia Dodd reportedly went to the ICON Park in Orlando, Florida for the first time on Wednesday, March 15, where her son died.
The Sun reported that the fateful 400ft ride called FreeFall no longer exists there but the 14-year-old's mother went to the site to pay a tribute to him. She told Click Orlando, “My son took his last breath on this ride, so it’s heartbreaking, it’s devastating. It’s a feeling I hope no parent will ever have to go through after this ride comes down.”
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‘My emotions are all over’
Dodd reportedly continued, “Unfortunately, when he passed, I wasn’t there for him. So, I had to do this. I didn’t want to come under these circumstances, but... I had to. I gotta say, my emotions are all over," before adding, "I have created a Tyre Sampson Foundation. My goal with that is to support any school athletic program because he was definitely headed toward football."
Earlier in April 2022, she had shared, “To get a call over the phone and not to be there as a mother to comfort ... that’s very disturbing. It’s heart-wrenching. It’s heart-wrenching. I couldn’t do anything for my son, but I have the phone. I couldn’t touch him. I couldn’t hold him. I couldn’t hug him. I couldn’t do anything.”
‘They’ve tried to evade service’
The mother was at the location with her lawyers Michael Haggard and Kimberly Wald, of The Haggard Law Firm, and daughter, and niece. Haggard also spoke with the media and shared that a settlement has been reached with Orlando FreeFall’s owner-operator, Slingshot Group, as well as with the ICON Park, where the ride was installed. However, the family’s legal fight against Funtime Thrill Rides – an amusement ride manufacturer based in Dolsach, Austria – is still on.
The attorney reportedly said, “As of this point in time, the case is not over. This death drop was made by (Funtime Thrill Rides). They’ve tried to evade service, they’ve tried to evade responsibility. And please remember it was the manufacturer that said, ‘You don’t need seatbelts.’”
‘Our hearts are with the family’
Besides, ICON Park also issued a statement after the incident that claimed Sampson's life and mentioned, “There is nothing more important to ICON Park than the safety of our guests and employees, and we’ve been supportive in assisting Senator Thompson with her proposed legislation.”
“We agree with the goal to ensure extra diligence and oversight with mid- to small-attraction operators for ride training, testing, and process documentation, which we also focus on in our own rigorous ride safety protocols. While the FreeFall ride is not owned and was not controlled or operated by ICON Park, because it is a tenant on the property, we agree with the owner’s decision to dismantle the ride and our hearts are with the family as they witness this important milestone,” it added.