Authorities are sharing the immediate details of a teenage boy who died after falling from an amusement park ride. According to WESH, the 14-year-old was on the Free Fall ride at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida.
According to reports, the tragic incident occurred around 11 p.m. on March 24. After falling from the ride, the teen was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital where he sadly died as a result of his injuries.
As NBC Today reports, a video revealed that passengers were concerned with the seat restraints just before the boy fell from the ride. The Today Show warned viewers of the disturbing images before broadcasting. You can watch the video below.
Amusement Park Ride Tragedy: Florida 14-Year-Old Dead
The video captured the teen falling from the ride. According to WESH, Free Fall is the world’s tallest free-standing drop tower, taking its passengers about 430-feet into the air. The ICON Park ride reaches about 75 miles per hour as it drops back to Earth.
In the above video, as the thrill-seekers were moving up the tower, you can hear the ride operators yelling at one of the passengers to check their seatbelt. It’s unclear if they were talking to the teen. The teen’s identity has not been made public.
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In a statement issued by John Stine, a sales director for the Slingshot Group which operates the ride, he writes that an investigation into how this could have happened is ongoing. “We operate the ride with all the safety precautions in mind. Everything is in place. And this is why we’re doing this investigation. We are working with those people investigating at this point.”
“We are devastated that this happened, and our hearts go out to the family,” Stine continued. “We are cooperating with all other investigations at this time to get to the bottom of what happened.”
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings also released a statement offering his condolences to the teen’s family. “I offer my deepest condolences for the family of the 14-year-old boy who died following the tragic incident at Icon Park. I look to receiving more information about what happened in the incident and what will be done to prevent it from ever happening again. The Florida Department of Agriculture and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigations will bring clarity to the circumstances and next steps.”
According to WESH, this is not the first time ICON Park has experienced a tragedy of this magnitude. Back in 2020, a park employee died after falling from the StarFlyer attraction.
At this time, the ride will remain closed indefinitely. According to the Orlando Sentinel, it only just opened in December 2021. Details into what the initial investigation has found were not made known to the public.
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