On the day Tyre Sampson would have turned 15, family gathers at site of his deadly fall
On the night before what would have been his son’s 15th birthday, Yarnell Sampson experienced a meltdown.
Though he said he’s been healing, the heartbroken father was overwhelmed Tuesday by the emotions and changes spurred by his son’s death.
“It’s hard to explain something like this, it’s unnatural,” he said. “I didn’t want to come up here and try to be a public figure, try to get publicity behind this thing, but since I’m here, I’m going to let the message be heard: Justice for Tyre.”
Yarnell Sampson gathered with family members, famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and State Rep. Geraldine Thompson at ICON Park on Wednesday to honor Tyre Sampson’s life and continue advocating for the demolition of the Orlando Free Fall ride, from which Tyre fell to his death March 24.
The 6-foot-2, 383-pound teenager was nearly 100 pounds over the weight limit, but Tyre was granted a ride anyway. Since then, Free Fall has remained closed.
In April, Tyre’s family filed a lawsuit against the ride’s owner, SlingShot Group, its landlord ICON Park and various manufacturers and installers who worked on the drop tower, alleging negligence.
Crump said on Wednesday his team of attorneys has since asked for the case to be expedited.
“SlingShot and the other defendants put profit over safety,” Crump said.
Despite the demands for Free Fall to be demolished, Orlando Slingshot hopes to reopen the ride upon receiving approval from the state.
Wednesday’s gathering for Tyre’s birthday was more somber than past rallies at ICON Park. There were no megaphones or chanting; instead, the group silently gathered in front of the ride that took Tyre’s life, clutching balloons and wearing T-shirts adorned with the teenager in his football gear.
“In the ordinary course of life, you don’t expect parents to have to bury their children,” Thompson said. “He was on the cusp of manhood.”
Thompson, who is running for state Senate, said the first bill she will draft if elected will be the “Tyre Sampson law,” which she said would require officials to consider the safety record of any company considering building and operating a ride.
In the meantime, Crump urged people to ask “the courts and everybody involved” for a prompt trial in the family’s lawsuit.
“This is of great public importance,” he said. “Safety is paramount.”
In a statement Wednesday, Trevor Arnold, an attorney for Orlando Slingshot, called Tyre’s death “a tragic accident that we take very seriously.”
“We continue to cooperate with all inquiries, and it is our hope that one way Tyre’s name and memory can live on is through the proposed ‘Tyre Sampson Bill,’ which we support,” Arnold said.
After releasing the balloons into the sky, the group clasped hands, bowed their heads and prayed.
Among those in the prayer circle were a vacationing mother and son.
Vellicia Bryant, 59, and her son Shawn Chapman, 37, do not live in Florida, but when they decided to visit, they heard about the commemoration of Tyre’s 15th birthday and came by to pay their respects.
As a mother, seeing someone suffer the loss of a son frightens Bryant.
“These are kids operating these machines that have people’s lives in their hands,” she said. “And my son is an adult, but still, the mother bear comes out.”
Chapman’s birthday also falls on Aug. 17, which is why he felt compelled to participate. He said he was honored to be in the Sampson family’s presence.
“I told the father, I’m going to celebrate his son’s birthday every year I celebrate mine,” he said.
