Gabrielle Russon
A pair of bills — one adding more safety rules for amusement rides, the other making it harder to get public records immediately when the state investigates a ride accident — sailed through a Senate committee Tuesday.
Sen. Geraldine Thompson proposed the legislation following the tragic death of a teenage tourist on spring break in Orlando in 2022.
Tyre Sampson fell more than 400 feet after he slipped out of his seat on the Orlando Free Fall drop tower at International Drive’s ICON Park.
“The seat had been adjusted. He was over six-feet-tall, over 300 pounds, even though he was only 14 years old. So on the ride going up, there was no problem. As the ride came down, the harness across his shoulders came up and he fell out,” Thompson said during Tuesday’s Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government.
“This is named in his honor, the Tyre Sampson Act, and we want to prevent the kind of tragedy that occurred to Tyre from occurring to any other family.”
Under SB 902, the Windermere Democrat proposed amusement rides be required to post signs about height/weight requirements and medical conditions preventing passengers from riding. Other changes include requiring ride operators to report major ride modifications after a ride has already been permitted to the state, requiring training for ride operators and allowing state investigators to show up unannounced for ride inspections.
Thompson said she had been working with the amusement ride industry as she crafted her proposed legislation.
“They have been very cooperative and very supportive because this impacts all of them even though it was not their ride,” Thompson said Tuesday. “It puts a cloud over amusement rides in Florida, so this is something that’s good for customers, families and for the industry.”
The bill doesn’t apply to Disney World, Universal, SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Legoland, which are exempt from many state regulations. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday the Legislature was looking to regulate Disney World rides, removing that exemption so state inspectors could be called in when someone is injured.
Thompson also sponsored a second bill (SB 904) that would let the Florida Department of Agriculture delay the release of investigation records for ride accidents until after the investigation is finished.
Michael Haggard, a lawyer representing Tyre’s mother, told Florida Politics last month he was against the bill because it’s important for the public — and for families affected by a ride investigation — to be informed what’s happened.
“The public needs to know. The family needs to know. We’re a tourism state. You can’t hide,” Haggard said.
No senators asked questions or debated either bill during Tuesday’s hearing before committee members voted to support them.
