ORLANDO, Fla. — When Shay Johnson last spoke with her cousin Tyre Sampson, the 14-year-old killed after falling from a drop tower at ICON Park last Thursday, he was about to board the ride after he was turned away from other nearby attractions because of his size, Johnson said.
Tyre weighed about 340 pounds and stood 6-foot-4, she said, and he was told he could not ride the Orlando StarFlyer or the Orlando SlingShot before getting on the Orlando Free Fall. She said she believes the ride operators just looked at Tyre to assess his size before letting him ride.
“I hate it,” she said in an interview. “I hate that they did not turn him down. ... I feel like they just looked (him) over just to get his money.”
