A court in Florida, US, has ordered that an amusement ride manufacturer must pay US$310m to the family of a teenage boy who died when he fell from one of its rides at ICON Park in Orlando in 2022.
The BBC reports that 14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell 30m from the ride, which had no seatbelts, while visiting the park during spring break. He weighed 172kg, 43kg more than the ride’s operating limit.
Funtime Handels, the Austrian manufacturer of the ride, did not send a representative to the court.
The family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, said that Sampson’s death was the result of negligence.
Damages will be shared by Sampson’s parents, who launched the civil suit in March 2022. They settled separately with the ride’s owner, Eagle Drop Slingshot, and operator, ICON Park, last year.
Following the death, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis enacted the Tyre Sampson Act in May 2023, which strengthens safety standards for amusement rides.
