ORLANDO, Fla. – Calls made to 911 after a 14-year-old boy fell to his death from a free-fall amusement park ride in Orlando were released to Local 10 News from the Orange County Fire Rescue Department.
One caller tells the dispatcher: “The thing went down . . . this guy fell right out of the seat . . . “It was the biggest smack I ever heard in my life.”
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“It looks like his arms are broken,” another caller told a 911 dispatcher. “They didn’t secure the seat belt on him.”
Several witnesses told 911 that they believed the person was dead.
Caller: “The ride was going and during the middle of the ride the guy just came off.”
Dispatcher: “Is he awake?”
Caller: “No, he’s dead. He’s gone.”
Dispatcher: “Tell me exactly why you think he’s completely gone?”
Caller: “He’s face down. There’s blood everywhere. He’s not breathing. I checked his pulse, there’s no pulse.”
The dispatcher told the caller to try to do CPR on him, but the caller responded: “He is about 300 pounds, he’s hard to lift, he is face down on the ground.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department identified the 14-year-old as Tyree Samson, but the teen’s last name was later corrected to Sampson.
Sampson, an eighth grader, was visiting Orlando for spring break from his school in St. Louis, Missouri. Orange County Sheriff John W. Mina said Sampson was at ICON Park with a friend’s family.
The teen fell from the Orlando Free Fall attraction, billed as the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower, around 11:10 p.m. Thursday, March 24, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The boy was taken to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where he was pronounced dead, deputies said.