(NEW YORK) — The family of the teenager who died after falling from an amusement park ride in Florida told ABC News’ Good Morning America that his death was preventable.
“This could’ve been prevented … it should’ve been prevented,” Nekia Dodd, the mother of Tyre Sampson, told GMA. “So as an operator, you have a job to check those rides, you know. The video I saw, that was not done. And if it was done, it should’ve been done more than once, you know.”
Sampson, 14, died after falling from a ride at ICON Park in Orlando on March 24. His parents filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit on Monday.
Dodd and Tyre Sampson’s father, Yarnell Sampson, filed the lawsuit in the 9th Circuit Court in Orange County, Florida, accusing ICON Park in Orlando and other defendants, including the manufacturer and the operator of the FreeFall thrill ride, of negligence.
“Tyre had a long and prosperous life in front of him that was cut short by this tragic event,” the lawsuit states.
“Orlando Slingshot continues to fully cooperate with the State during its investigation, and we will continue to do so until it has officially concluded,” Trevor Arnold, attorney for Orlando Slingshot, said in a statement to ABC News. “We reiterate that all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided by the manufacturer of the ride were followed. We look forward to working with the Florida legislature to implement change in the industry and we are also supportive of the concepts outlined by State Representative Geraldine Thompson to make changes to state law through the ‘Tyre Sampson Bill’ to prevent a tragic accident like this from ever happening again.”
Last week, officials listed operator error as the primary suspected cause in the death of Sampson, who slipped out of his seat on a drop-tower ride and fell more than 100 feet to the pavement.
Sampson’s parents are scheduled to hold a news conference with their attorneys Tuesday to discuss the legal action.
You can watch the full interview with Dodd Tuesday morning on GMA.
Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — The parents of a 14-year-old boy who fell to his death in March from the world’s tallest tower drop ride at a Florida amusement park filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit on Monday alleging park officials failed to warn riders of “unreasonably dangerous and foreseeable risks.”
The tragedy unfolded on March 24 when Tyre Sampson, who was on spring break, slipped out of his seat and fell more than 100 feet to his death, according to the lawsuit.
Sampson’s mother and father, Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson, filed the lawsuit in the 9th Circuit Court in Orange County, Florida, accusing ICON Park in Orlando and other defendants, including the manufacturer and the operator of the FreeFall thrill ride, of negligence.
“Tyre had a long and prosperous life in front of him that was cut short by this tragic event,” the lawsuit states, adding that the teenager was an honor student and football player at his school in St. Louis.
Sampson’s parents are scheduled to hold a news conference with their attorneys Tuesday morning to discuss the legal action.
The lawsuit comes a week after Florida state officials announced the findings of a forensic engineer’s field investigation report on the incident that killed Sampson.
The report showed that the operator of the FreeFall ride, which is the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower at a height of 430 feet, “made manual adjustments to the ride resulting in it being unsafe.”
The report by Quest Engineering & Failure Analysis, Inc., said manual manipulations were made to the seat Sampson was sitting in to allow the harness restraint opening to be loosened, apparently to accommodate the more than 300-pound teenager. The investigation found Sampson’s harness restraint opening was “almost double that of a normal restraint opening range.”
Nikki Fried, the Florida commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, said the adjustment by the individual operator, who was not identified in the report, enabled the FreeFall’s sensor lights to illuminate, “improperly satisfying” the ride’s electronic safety mechanisms and enabling the ride to operate “even though Mr. Sampson was not properly secured in his seat.”
Fried said the initial permit inspection for the new ride was done in December and no deficiencies were found.
“We followed the protocols, we followed the manual and everything was up to par per the manual of the manufacturer,” Fried told reporters.
She said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Besides the amusement park, the lawsuit names as defendants Extreme Amusement Rides, the ride’s owner and operator that also does business under the name The SlingShot Group of Companies; the ride’s manufacturer, Funtime Handels GMBH of Austria; and Keator Construction, LLC, the general contractor responsible for building the attraction.
Also named as a defendant was the Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, a Germany-based company that manufactured the seats and safety harnesses for the FreeFall.
The state investigation determined that the “normal” restraint opening for seats on the FreeFall ride was 3.33 inches. Sampson’s seat was adjusted before the ride started to an opening of 7.19 inches, the investigation found.
Florida state Rep. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, said at a news conference last week that the manufacturer’s guidelines for the FreeFall specifically say the maximum weight of a rider is 250 pounds.
On the day of the incident, Sampson was 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 380 pounds, according to the lawsuit.
“No weight or height restrictions were posted at the ticket counter, and no ICON or SlingShot defendant employees, agents, apparent agents, servants or contractors advised Tyre about any weight or height restrictions,” the lawsuit contends.
The lawsuit alleges that ICON Park and The SlingShot Group “knew or should have known” from its own tests that riders of the FreeFall would be “subject to unreasonably dangerous and foreseeable risks, and that serious injury and death of the occupants in the ride could result.”
ICON Park had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, but a spokesperson told ABC News attorneys for the park are expected to release a statement soon.
Trevor Arnold, an attorney for The SlingShot Group said in a statement released to ABC News on Monday that the company “continues to fully cooperate with the state during its investigation, and we will continue to do so until it has officially concluded.”
“We reiterate that all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided by the manufacturer of the ride were followed,” Arnold said. “We look forward to working with the Florida legislature to implement change in the industry, and we are also supportive of the concepts outlined by State Representative Geraldine Thompson to make changes to state law through the ‘Tyre Sampson Bill’ to prevent a tragic accident like this from ever happening again.”
In a statement last week to ABC News, ICON Park it was “deeply troubled” by the state’s preliminary investigation that found the ride operator misadjusted the harness and safety sensor light on the FreeFall. “ICON Park is committed to providing a safe, fun experience for families. We will continue to support the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with their ongoing investigation,” the amusement park said.
A representative for Keator Construction said the company had no comment. Funtime Handels GMBH and Gerstlauer Amusement Rides have yet to respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
(NEW YORK) — For the second consecutive week, new COVID-19 infection rates among children in the U.S. have seen a notable increase, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA).
Last week, 37,000 additional child COVID-19 cases were reported, an increase of about 43% from two weeks ago. The jump in infections follows weeks of steady declines, and marks the first increase since January.
Overall, numbers remain significantly lower than during other surges of the pandemic. However, many Americans, who are taking at-home tests, are not submitting their results to their local public health authorities. Thus, health experts said that daily case totals are likely significantly higher than the numbers officially reported and tallied.
In the Northeast, infection rates are at their highest level in eight weeks, while the Midwest is reporting its highest proportion of new cases since the end of February.
A total of 12.9 million children have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic, and children represent about a fifth of all reported cases on record.
Nationally, pediatric virus-related hospital admissions have also seen their first increase in three months — up by 5% in the last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, AAP and CHA report that a small percentage of pediatric cases have resulted in hospitalization and death.
According to the nearly two dozen states, which reported pediatric hospitalizations, 0.1%-1.5% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization. Similarly, in states which reported virus-related deaths by age, 0.00%-0.27% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death.
Even so, health experts stress that any uptick in severe illness among children is concerning.
The increases in pediatric COVID cases are renewing calls for children to be inoculated against COVID-19. Although the COVID-19 has been authorized under emergency use for all children over the age of 5 for nearly six months, tens of millions of children remain completely unvaccinated.
At this time, just under 26 million children, over the age of 5 — about half of those eligible — remain completely unvaccinated, and overall, just 43.1% of eligible children have been fully vaccinated.
Many parents of young children have also been vocalizing their frustration over the delayed rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of five.
Top Biden administration officials said those shots could be available as early as June.
Both Moderna or Pfizer have yet to fully submit their vaccine data to the Food and Drug Administration, the agency said last week, but Moderna, which has a two-dose vaccine for children under five, is expected to officially file a request for authorization by the end of the month, a spokesperson for the company confirmed.
Pfizer, which has been conducting clinical trials on a three-dose vaccine for kids under five, is expected to have results by early May, is projecting an authorization of its three-dose vaccine sometime in June, according to the company’s CEO, Albert Bourla.
“I am frustrated on their behalf,” White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN’s “State of the Union,” said, in reference to some of his friends, who are frustrated that vaccines for young children have yet to be authorized.
It’s “very hard to prejudge a specific date and time” as to when these vaccines will become available, Jha said, adding that he expects the shots to be available in the “next couple months.”
AAP and CHA noted there is an “urgent” need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects.
“It is important to recognize there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children’s health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth,” the organizations wrote.
Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it will investigate a plane crash in Arizona on Sunday during a Red Bull-sponsored stunt.
The pilots of two planes attempted to swap places mid-flight, leaving both aircraft unmanned for a period of time, and one of the planes crashed, although both pilots were unharmed.
The FAA said it rejected a waiver of laws requiring pilots to man their planes at all times, according to a denial later from the FAA dated Friday — days ahead of Sunday’s crash.
The pilots, Luke Aikens and Andy Farrington, applied for the waiver saying that the event was in the “public interest” as it was meant to raise awareness for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and encourage students to pursue careers in STEM.
In its rejection letter, the FAA said that “would not be in the public interest and cannot find that the proposed operation would not adversely affect safety.”
The event was live-streamed on the online streaming platform Hulu.
The stunt was planned to have each of the pilots fly their aircraft to 14,000 feet, and then put their planes in vertical dives.
At the same time, the pilots were supposed to jump out of of the respective planes and attempt to swap seats in mid-air.
The pilots, who are also cousins, have planned the swap for a year, according to Red Bull. According to Red Bull, the planes were placed on autopilot and the engines were turned off in midair while the pilots attempted the swap.
In their request to the FAA, the pilots said they were both held commercial pilots’ licenses and had “conducted over 20,000 skydives” and performed more than 100 dive test flights without incident.
Despite the plan and the specially equipped planes, one of the planes crashed during the stunt Sunday prompting federal investigation.
“One of the two single-engine Cessna 182 aircraft used in the stunt crashed after it spun out of control,” the FAA said in a statement Monday. “The pilot landed safely by parachute. The other pilot regained control of the second aircraft and landed safely.”
Red Bull did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.
The National Transportation Safety Board also has opened an investigation into the crash and expects to have a preliminary report in the next few weeks.
(CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisc.) — A hunt for a killer is underway in Wisconsin after a 10-year-old girl was found dead — and the police chief is warning residents to be vigilant.
Lily Peters, a fourth grader, was reported missing by her father on Sunday night, said police in Chippewa Falls, a city about 100 miles east of Minneapolis.
Lily had been at her aunt’s house on Sunday and never made it home that night, police said.
On Sunday night officers found Lily’s bike in the woods by a walking trail near her aunt’s house, police said.
Around 9:15 a.m. Monday, Lily’s body was found in a wooded area near the walking trail, Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said at a news conference.
Kelm said police are considering this a homicide investigation.
No one is in custody, Kelm said, adding that police are following up on leads.
“We encourage anyone with information to please contact the Chippewa Falls police department — and maintain a state of vigilance as there may be a danger to the public,” Kelm said.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has ordered a court to consider new evidence regarding the case of Melissa Lucio and the death of her daughter, Mariah. Lucio is on death row and was scheduled to be executed on April 27.
The execution will be halted as the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County considers the evidence.
In a statement following the announcement, Lucio thanked those who have supported her fight for clemency.
“I thank God for my life,” Lucio said. “I am grateful the Court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence. Mariah is in my heart today and always. I am grateful to have more days to be a mother to my children and a grandmother to my grandchildren.”
Lucio was sentenced in 2008 for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, one of Lucio’s 14 children.
Her lawyers say new evidence shows that the cause of her daughter’s injuries and subsequent death were caused by a fall down a steep staircase outside their apartment in Harlingen, Texas.
They say Lucio was coerced into a false confession after hours of intense police interrogations.
A supplementary filing submitted by Lucio’s attorneys asserts that the conviction was based on a false confession and false or poor testimony from medical examiners and specialists. They are asking the court to withdraw its order setting Lucio’s execution date.
The filing states that there is “overwhelming evidence that the judgment this Court set for execution on April 27, 2022, represents a miscarriage of justice.”
Lucio had said she is “at peace” regardless of the decision, according to a recently released statement.
“Either way I will get my freedom soon,” the statement read. “I will go home to my family or go to heaven. If I get a new trial, I am ready for the fight. I am not the same person I was in that interrogation room. I would stand up for my rights today. I want other survivors of domestic violence and assault to stand up for their rights too.”
In the days leading up to Lucio’s clemency hearing, political and social justice figures held rallies and prayer vigils to protest her death sentence.
State lawmakers including Reps. Joe Moody, Rafael Anchia, Alex Dominguez, Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and more met with Lucio in early April to join the fight.
“Melissa Lucio checked all the boxes of the ideal culprit, right? She is a little Latina mom with too many children, with a drug addiction,” Sabrina Van Tassel, the director of the documentary “The State of Texas Vs. Melissa,” said at a press conference Sunday.
“After a three-year investigation, I’m here to tell you that she’s not … The world’s not going to be a better place if Melissa Lucio is executed tomorrow,” Van Tessel said.
Lucio’s children have also issued a plea to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to grant their mother clemency.
“She’s more worried about her kids than anything,” Bobby Alvarez, Lucio’s son, said in an interview with ABC station KVUE in Austin, Texas.
On Monday, a petition delivery and prayer vigil will be held outside Abbott’s office at the Texas State Capitol, as protesters await action from the state district attorney, the Texas Board of Pardons & Paroles or Abbott.
Celebrity Kim Kardashian has also spoken out against the planned execution online.
“So heartbreaking to read this letter from Melissa Lucio’s children begging for the state not to kill their mother,” she wrote. “There are so many unresolved questions surrounding this case and the evidence that was used to convict her.”
If Lucio is executed, she would be the first Latina to be put to death by Texas and the first woman to be executed by the state since 2014.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated when Lucio was sentenced. It has been updated.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump has been held in civil contempt for his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the New York attorney general’s office.
(NEW YORK) — Deadly fires broke out in Philadelphia and New York City on Sunday taking the lives of six people in total.
The first blaze was in Philadelphia, on both floors of a two-story row house. It was reported at 2 a.m. Sunday, and crews were at the scene in two minutes, the fire department said.
Four people, including three children, were killed, while one resident escaped and survived, the fire department said.
There’s no evidence of working smoke alarms, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said at a news conference.
Thiel, appearing frustrated, said this blaze brings the city’s total number of fire fatalities for the year to 21.
“I have personally in the past six years witnessed more than 100 people zipped in body bags in this city from fatal fires. And yes, I’m tired,” he said. “It’s too much.”
Hours later, on Sunday afternoon in New York City, firefighter Timothy Klein was fighting a three-alarm fire at a home in Brooklyn when a ceiling collapsed, trapping and killing him, the FDNY said.
One other person was also found dead inside, the FDNY said.
Klein, 31, was a six-year veteran, the FDNY said.
Klein “died risking his life to save others,” Acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said. “His family has a rich history of service in the FDNY, and he bravely followed in their footsteps. The hearts of the entire Department are with the Klein family and with the members of Engine Company 257 and Ladder Company 170.”
(SANTA FE) — Easing winds could help firefighters temper nearly a dozen uncontained wildfires that exploded after days of dangerous fire conditions in the West.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency Saturday due to the multiple wildfires raging through the state. The Calf Canyon Fire and the Hermits Peak Fire merged, burning through more than 42,000 acres east of Santa Fe by Saturday morning, officials said.
The Cooks Peak Fire in northern New Mexico is the largest at nearly 50,000 acres and 0% containment.
Earlier this month, the McBride Fire killed a couple who did not evacuate their home in Ruidoso, New Mexico, in time. The Bosque Fire prompted voluntary evacuations in Jarales, New Mexico, after it sparked earlier this week.
The fire danger also extended to the Midwest, where at least one person was killed in Red Willow County, Nebraska, the state’s emergency management agency announced in a press release. Three firefighters have been injured since Friday as fire crews attempt to mitigate wildfires burning in 12 counties, according to officials.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency earlier in the week due to the “fast-growing” Tunnel Fire. The wildfire had burned through more than 21,000 acres north of Flagstaff after it sparked on April 17. On Saturday, the fire was only 3% contained, Coconino County officials said. The fire prompted mandatory evacuations in the area after threatening hundreds of homes and about 1,000 animals.
The Crooks Fire, which has burned through more than 3,000 acres south of Prescott, Arizona, is 15% contained, according to fire officials.
Dangerous fire conditions persisted throughout the region over several days, with relative humidity and high winds assisting in the rapid spread of the infernos. Widespread drought has also caused dry fuel on the ground to allow the fires to explode.
On Sunday, much lighter winds were expected to ease the fire danger, severely decreasing the conditions for them to spread through Monday.
ABC News’ Daniel Amarante, Meredith Deliso and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A California man was arrested this week for allegedly threatening to bomb Merriam-Webster’s offices and kill its employees over the dictionary publisher’s definitions for women, federal prosecutors said.
Jeremy David Hanson, 34, of Rossmoor, California, was charged on April 20 with one count of interstate communication of threats to commit violence for alleged online threats that he sent to the company in October, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Hanson allegedly sent the company several threatening messages through its “Contact us” section on its website and in the comments section on its webpages that corresponded to the word entries for “Girl” and “Woman.” Rachael Rollins, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said. Rollins said the threats were serious enough to force Merriam-Webster to close its Springfield and New York offices out of an abundance of caution.
“We believe Hanson sent a multitude of anonymous threatening and despicable messages related to the LGBTQ community that were intended to evoke fear and division,” she said in a statement.
Hanson allegedly used the handle “@anonYmous” to post the a message on Oct. 2 on the comment section of Merriam-Webster’s webpage for the definition of the word female stating that “Merriam-Webster now tells blatant lies and promotes anti-science propaganda,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“There is no such thing as ‘gender identity.’ The imbecile who wrote this entry should be hunted down and shot,” he allegedly wrote in the comment section.
Hanson also allegedly wrote a message on the “Contact us” page stating the company’s headquarters should be “shot up and bombed,” federal prosecutors said.
“It would be poetic justice to have someone storm your offices and shoot up the place, leaving none of you commies alive,” he allegedly wrote.
Hanson posted a similar message on the “Contact us” page on Oct. 8, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The suspect allegedly sent related threats to other companies, non-profits and individuals including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Land O’ Lakes, Hasbro, Inc., IGN Entertainment, the president of the University of North Texas, two professors at Loyola Marymount University and a New York City rabbi, according to prosecutors.
“Threats to life are most certainly not protected speech and they cause real fear in victims,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, said in a statement.
Attorney information for Hanson wasn’t immediately available.
He was released on conditions following a court appearance in the Central District of California, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Katherine A. Robertson in federal court in Springfield on April 29, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
