Technician says Florida thrill ride operator ignored his safety concerns before teen's fatal fall

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A maintenance technician alleged on Wednesday that he raised safety issues with the operators of a central Florida amusement ride before a 14-year-old boy fell to his death, but his concerns were never addressed.

Austin Campbell-Alexander said in the state whistleblower lawsuit that the Orlando Free Fall ride at Icon Park had sensors which were modified to accommodate people whose height or weight were outside safety limits. He also alleged that overheated cylinders prevented seats from securing properly and that the drop ride's metal structure had cracks in its joints. Campbell-Alexander also said he and his colleagues weren't given any training on ride maintenance or patron safety.

“He brought these concerns to his manager and the owner of the ride, and basically they didn’t do what they should have done,” Greg Schmitz, one of his attorneys, said in a phone interview.

A spokeswoman for the ride operators didn’t immediately respond to an emailed inquiry.

Tyre Sampson fell 70 feet (21 meters) to his death on March 24, 2022. A football standout who stood 6 foot, 2 inches tall (1.9 meters) and weighed 380 pounds (172 kilograms), he was visiting Orlando on spring break from the St. Louis area.

Sampson went with friends to the amusement park on International Drive in the heart of the region's tourism district, and they rode the Orlando Free Fall, which placed 30 riders in seats attached to a tower. Each passenger was secured with a shoulder harness before the ride lifted them up the tower and then dropped them 430 feet (131 meters).

Because of Sampson’s size, the harness didn’t lock properly and he was ejected from his seat when the ride braked, authorities said.

Campbell-Alexander wasn't present during the accident, but he has suffered depression and anxiety since then, Schmitz said.

He said that after Sampson's death, he was asked to backfill blank maintenance logs showing that tasks had been performed in the weeks before the accident. Campbell-Alexander refused and was put on paid administrative leave for a year and not permitted to return to the property, the lawsuit said.

After Sampson's family reached a settlement with the ride's operators, Campbell-Alexander was fired. His attorneys said it was retaliation for the safety concerns he had flagged. Sampson's family also won a $310 million verdict against the attraction's Austrian builder last year.

The lawsuit filed in state court in Orlando said Campbell-Alexander is seeking more than $50,000. Schmitz said it should include back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages.

“It was just very traumatic from his perspective, working there," Schmitz said.