The father of Tyre Sampson is sla’mm-ing inves-tigators and theme park operators for trying to sweep his d-eath under the r-ug.
On Monday, Yarnell Sampson spoke at a press conference in front of the Free Fall at’tract’ion at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, with civil rights attorney Ben Crump. He acc-us’ed all parties involved of ignoring Tyre’s d-ea’dly fall because he is a Black teenager. Yarnell believes that if his son “was a European child, it would have been different.”
The 14-year-old was captured on video plu’m’meting to his d-eath in March after boarding the Free Fall ride. A report found that the young man weighed over 300 pounds yet was permitted onto the ride despite the 287 weight limit. A la-wsuit filed by the family says operators shouldn’t have allowed Tyre on the ride.
Yarnell also said that he was sho-ck’ed to see his son’s memorial had been taken down when he visited the site of his de’at’h on Father’s Day. According to both him and Crump, the park told them a permanent memorial would remain at the location. Orlando Slin-gshot, which is under the ride’s operating group, confirmed that cleaning crews removed the memorial several weeks ago, and the items were sent to the family. They did not provide details regarding a permanent dedication to Tyre Sampson.
“I just thought everybody’s just ab’an-doned him and everybody care about him no more, and there’s no more love,” Yarnell stated.
Ahead of Yarnell’s and Crump’s press conference, protesters could be heard sho-uti’ng “Tear it down” in front of the ride.
