Family Calls Bullshit on ‘Cousin’ of Boy Who Died on Orlando Park Ride
As the news of Tyre Sampson fatally falling from an Orlando amusement park ride gripped headlines last week, Shay Johnson wasted no time talking to the press about the final moments of the 14-year-old boy she described as her cousin.
In interviews with CNN and local Florida outlets, Johnson recounted a phone conversation with Sampson just before the March 24 tragedy. During a brief call, she said, Sampson was upset that he had been rejected from other sides at the ICON Park in Florida for being “too big”—and was excited the 430-foot FreeFall ride was finally granting him entry.
“He called me he say, ‘They let me ride. I can ride. I can ride,’” she told CNN. “I didn’t know it would be my last time talking to him alive. He just wanted to ride and have a good time.”