ICON Park in Orlando.Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The boy, identified as Tyre Sampson, was “visiting from his home in Missouri with another family” at the time of the incident, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during apress conferenceon Friday.
Police previously shared that the boy died after falling from the Orlando Free Fall attraction at ICON Park around 11 p.m. Afterwards, he was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Office’s role in this incident is to determine whether or not this is an accident,” Mina said during the press conference. “Based on all of our preliminary investigation and information it appears to be a terrible tragedy, but our investigation is still open.”
When asked why police believe at this point that the boy’s death was accidental, Mina shared that from talking to employees “everything seemed to be okay and normal.” He also noted that police were not aware of “any reports of any issues with the ride” since it opened in December.
The sheriff went on to share that as part of their investigation, authorities will be “looking into” a number of factors, including “whether it was a slip, whether he was conscious or not,” or if there were any issues with the locking device in the ride’s safety harness.
“We’ll determine for sure if it was accidental, which we believe at this point,” he continued, going on to stress that currently “there are absolutely no criminal charges.”
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During the news briefing, Mina extended his “deepest condolences” to the boy’s family.
“We can’t imagine the pain and anguish that his family must be going through,” the sheriff said. “As a father with boys who go on rides and who frequent amusement parks a lot, it’s just a tragic situation.”
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ICON Park and SlingShot Group — which owns and operates Orlando Free Fall — did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment, but John Stine, a spokesperson for SlingShot, has said their “hearts go out to the family of this young man.”
“Words can’t say how we feel,” said Stine, according toNBC News. The outlet also reported that Stine said the boy was wearing a safety harness at the time of the incident.
During Friday’s press conference, police said they were not aware of any timetable for when Orlando Free Fall, which has been closed, will resume operations.
“Climb aboard this thrilling attraction to get a birds eye view of your favorite spots in Central Florida before tilting you 30 degrees forward anddropping you at over 75 mph,” they wrote on social media back in February, shortly after the attraction opened late last year.
source: people.com
