Kit Roberts
A picture of a teenager moments before he fell to his death from a theme park ride has revealed a chilling detail in the tragic turn of events.
Tyre Sampson was just 14-years-old when he fell 100 feet head first from the Orlando FreeFall drop tower in Florida's ICON Park.
Tyre had gone to the park on March 24, 2022, and got onto the drop tower ride.
This was the tallest free-standing drop tower, which carries 30 people up into the sky before dropping them some 400ft at 70mph.
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When Tyre got onto the ride, his safety harness had to be readjusted due to his height.
Although a green light had come on on the machine, indicating that the harness was safely fastened, an image from just before the ride started reveals a chilling detail.
In a still from the video taken just moments before Tyre fell to his death, you can clearly see how his safety harness had been fitted.
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The image shows Tyre's harness to be significantly looser than the others - there is a clear gap between his shoulder and the safety harness.
On the other riders' the harnesses all fit snugly over their shoulders and chests, but this is not the case with Tyre.
Tyre's father Yarnell recounted how his son had realised something was wrong when the ride started.
He told reporters: "When the ride took off, that's when he was feeling uncomfortable. He was like 'this thing is moving,' you know what I'm saying. And he was like 'what's going on?'''
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Parnell continued: "That's when he started freaking out. And he was explaining to his friends, next to him, 'I don't know man, if I don't make it down, safely, can you please tell my mamma and daddy that I love them."
Shortly afterwards, the ride went into free fall, and when the brakes were applied the G-force pushed Tyre through the gap between the seat and the harness, sending him falling to the ground.
He struck the ground head first and died at the scene.
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Following the tragedy, police released a recording of the emergency call which was made.
When asked if Tyre is awake, the caller replied: "Um, I'm not sure. They're saying he's breathing, but he's not responsive. Looks like his arms are broken, and his legs."
The ride was demolished in March 2023, and Tyre's mom Nekia Dodd visited to witness the moment.
She said: “When I lost my son, I was not there. The last few breaths, the last few words I wasn’t there
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"I had to do something… to bring me a little closer to him…He took his last everything on that ride."