ORLANDO (CBSMiami) – Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced Monday some of the findings from a report looking into Tyre Sampson’s amusement ride death.
Fried said the report shows that the manual adjustments had been made to the sensor to the seat in question that allowed the harness to restrained opening to be almost double that of a normal restraint opening range.
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“This report answers the question of what mechanically took place as our investigation now enters into the next phase of how and why it occurred as we look toward potential penalties along with any changes of rules and regulations needed to help prevent future tragedies,” she said. “This report confirmed our department’s findings that the operator of the Orlando Drop Tower made manual adjustments to the ride resulting in it being unsafe.”
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Fried says these misadjustments allowed the safety lights to illuminate, improperly satisfying the ride’s electronic safety mechanism that allowed the ride to operate even though Sampson was not properly secured in his seat.
“We will be back as soon as we get more information. We’re going to make sure that we are transparent, we are accountable and that we are taking this obviously very seriously,” Fried said.
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Officials say these are not the only contributing factors to the accident. Given those concerns, Fried says the Drop Tower will remain closed indefinitely.
