ORLANDO, Fla. – Workers at ICON Park can be heard in a viral video discussing safety measures after a teen fell to his death late Thursday from an Orlando thrill ride.
The video, which News 6 and ClickOrlando.com will not show due to its graphic nature, was shared on social media shortly after the teen — identified by Sheriff John Mina as 14-year-old Tyre Sampson of Missouri — fell from the Orlando Free Fall, billed as the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower.
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The Orlando Free Fall, which opened in Orlando’s tourist district in December, takes up to 30 guests high into the air before dropping 400 feet at about 75 mph.
In the video, the boy can be seen falling off the ride as it plummets to the ground.
As witnesses react to the tragedy, workers, employed by The SlingShot Group, which owns and operates the ride, can be heard on the video. The conversation below occurred in a loud, hectic environment, and portions of the conversation are not clearly audible.
[LISTEN TO CONVERSATION IN VIDEO PLAYER BELOW]
Worker 1: What are you doing?
Worker 2: I don’t know.
Worker 1: Didn’t you check it?
Worker 2: Yeah. The light was on.
Worker 3: We both -- we checked it. The light was on.
Worker 1: You guys are sure you checked it?
Workers 2 and 3: We did, yeah, the light was on.
It’s not clear what the “light” indicates to the workers, but it appears to be an indication that passengers have been safely secured.
It’s not known how the boy fell from the drop tower.
The SlingShot Group said it is working with authorities to determine what happened.
“Our hearts go out to the family of this young man,” said John Stine, director of sales and marketing for The SlingShot Group.
The ride will remain closed indefinitely, Stine said.
In September 2020, a 21-year-old man fell to his death while conducting a safety check on the StarFlyer attraction at ICON Park.
Authorities said Jacob David Kaminsky was climbing the tower when he fell to the bottom platform. Kaminsky was about halfway up the 450-foot ride, dubbed the world’s tallest swing ride, when he fell, officials said.