ORLANDO, FL — The parents of Tyre Sampson, a 14-year-old boy who fell to his death from an amusement park ride in 2022, have been awarded $310 million by an Orange County jury in a case against the ride’s Austrian manufacturer, Funtime.
Tyre Sampson died on March 24, 2022, after falling 70 feet from the Orlando Free Fall ride at Icon Park. The jury ordered Funtime to pay $155 million each to Sampson’s parents, Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson. The trial lasted only one day, as Funtime did not appear in court to defend itself.
The ride’s operator, Orlando Slingshot, had previously settled with Sampson’s family for an undisclosed amount, and Icon Park, which rented space to Orlando Slingshot, was not a party in the trial.
“The jury’s decision confirms what we have long argued: Tyre’s death was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to prioritize safety over profits,” family attorneys Ben Crump and Natalie Jackson said in a statement.
Although the verdict is a legal victory, the family will need to seek enforcement of the damages in an Austrian court to collect the awarded amount.