ORLANDO, Fla. — Legislation filed after teenage tourist Tyre Sampson’s death on the Orlando Free Fall drop tower would improve ride safety, his mother’s attorney and a ride safety expert say, but it could also keep future accident investigations secret until they’re done.
Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, filed what’s been dubbed the Tyre Sampson Act and a companion records exemption bill on Feb. 16. The first follows frameworks Thompson and the agriculture department drafted last year to close gaps in laws identified during the state’s accident investigation of Tyre’s death last March.
Amusement safety specialist Brian Avery and representatives for Tyre’s family largely praised the first bill. They highlighted its proposals to prevent Florida’s smaller attractions operators from making unauthorized adjustments to a ride’s restraint systems, as the state determined Orlando Slingshot did with safety sensors on two of the Free Fall’s seats, and its requirement for operators to submit more detailed safety and operational documentation to the state.
