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Attorney for mother of boy killed on FreeFall: ‘This was an accident waiting to happen’

ORLANDO, Fla. — An attorney for Tyre Sampson’s mother said criminal charges may be on the table after investigators found the Orlando FreeFall seat he fell to his death from was altered.

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Investigators said two of the ride’s chairs had been intentionally changed to fit bigger riders, widening what was supposed to be a 3-inch gap below the harness to more than 7 inches.

The attorney for Sampson’s mother, Michael Haggard, said everyone except the teen operators should be liable and, in the owner’s case, possibly criminally.

Report: Orlando FreeFall’s operator made manual adjustments to ride that made it unsafe

“When you start manipulating, and you start changing things, for your own profit, to sell a couple extra tickets to bigger folks with a ride (that) doesn’t provide for that, you started getting into intentional behavior that likely leads to tragedy,” Haggard said.

He said the accident was inevitable.

“This was an accident waiting to happen the moment it was designed, and then put into place (at) ICON Park and SlingShot.,” Haggard said. “It was something that was going to happen eventually, because they set it up with all these fallacies in the design of the operation of the ride.”

READ: Boy, 14, dies after falling from FreeFall ride at ICON Park in Orlando

The state is joining the mother’s attorney in calling for punishment.

In a statement, ICON Park said, “We are deeply troubled that the preliminary findings of the State’s investigation indicate a sensor on the Orlando FreeFall attraction, which is owned and operated by the SlingShot Group, had been mis-adjusted after the sensor was originally secured in place.”

An attorney for SlingShot Group said, “All protocols, procedures and safety measures provided to us by the manufacturer of the ride were followed.”

READ: Woman claiming to be related to boy who fell from ride has no ties to family, investigation shows

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.