The teenager who plunged to his death during a late-night ride on a 430-foot-tall free fall attraction at a Florida amusement park ride has been identified as 14-year-old Tyre Sampson, The Independent reports.
On Thursday, Tyre, from Missouri, had been enjoying a night of attractions at the ICON Park on International Drive and ultimately went on one of the park's newest rides: the Orlando Free-Fall.
According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the youngster fell from the ride at around 11:00 PM, with park guests having witnessed the tragic event unfold.
As reported by The Independent, Tyre, who was a straight-A student, was on vacation with a friend's family. Following the fall, he was rushed to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Tyre's name was released by Orange County Sheriff John Mina at a press conference on Friday, who said that the evidence thus far indicated that the young boy's death was "a terrible tragedy".
Per Fox News 35, officials at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - which inspects amusement park attractions and rides - will be investigating the incident at the park.
Recalling the horrific ordeal, one eyewitness told Fox News 35: "At first we thought it was a piece of the ride or whatever until we got a little closer and it was a person laying on the ground," before adding: "Everyone was just panicking and screaming."
John Stine, the director of sales and marketing for Slingshot Group of Companies (which owns the park), told The Associated Press on Friday morning: "We are absolutely saddened and devastated by what happened, and our hearts go out this young man's family."
He also insisted that the ride had been operating with "all the safety precautions in mind".
"Everything is in place and this is why we are doing this investigation," Stine added, per The Independent. Local police have also launched an investigation into the incident.
Speaking to WFTV, Stine also said: "Our hearts are broken for that family of the young man, and, again, we're going to do everything we can to work with the investigating authorities to get to the matter of this [incident]."
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