'Get Rid Of It': Mother Of Tyre Sampson, Killed On Orlando Thrill Ride, Speaks Publicly For First Time Since Son's Death

ST. LOUIS (CBSMiami/AP) — The mother of 14-year-old Missouri boy Tyre Sampson, who was killed while riding a 430-foot drop-tower ride at an Orlando amusement park says her son's death was preventable.

Attorney Michael Haggard, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tyre Sampson's mother, Neika Dodd.

Nekia Dodd, speaking Tuesday at a news conference in downtown St. Louis, said her son's death has left her struggling with emotions ranging from frustration to grief to anger.

"I have every emotion that you can possibly feel. Anger, frustrated. I mean, I'm mad, I'm sickening. All of that. Only because it should have been more, better signage out. It should have been."

She added, "Take the ride down completely. Get rid of it altogether. Too much of a risk."

Dodd said she's still in shock and it feels like what she called "an extended nightmare." His last words to her were, "I'll see you Saturday or Sunday. I'm walking back in this door the same way I left. I was expecting to see my son return to me the same way he walked out my door."

Dodd said it was horrible to not be there for her son.

"To get a call over the phone and not to be there as a mother, to comfort, you know, tell him it's going to be okay, that's very disturbing. It's heart wrenching. I couldn't do anything for my son but cry over the phone."

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In an interview broadcast Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Dodd said the accident "could've been prevented ... it should've been prevented. So as an operator, you have a job to check those rides, you know. The video I saw, that was not done. And if it was done, it should've been done more than once, you know."

Dodd and the boy's father filed a lawsuit in state court in Orlando on Monday against the ride's owner, manufacturer and landlord, claiming they were negligent and failed to provide a safe amusement ride.

The lawsuit claims the defendants failed to warn Sampson, who was 6-foot-2-inches tall and weighed 380 pounds about the risks of someone of his size going on the ride. It also claims they did not provide an appropriate restraint system.

Michael Haggard, one of Dodd's attorneys, held up a seatbelt strap that he said costs $22. While most free-fall rides have a shoulder harness and a seatbelt, the Orlando Free Fall ride had only an over-the-shoulder harness. Adding seatbelts to the ride's 30 seats would have cost $660, the lawsuit said.

"It's disgusting," Dodd said. "You wanted to save a dollar but you stripped me of my son."

Tyre's father, Yarnell Sampson, told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that the family is dealing with the boy's death "day-by-day, second-by-second, minute-by-minute." He said he hopes legal action can create change in the industry so no other parent suffers.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the teen's family, said the defendants in the case "showed negligence in a multitude of ways."

"From the ride and seat manufacturers and the installer to the owners and operators, the defendants had more than enough chances to enact safeguards, such as seatbelts, that could have prevented Tyre's death," Crump said.

An attorney for the ride's owner, Orlando Slingshot, said the company was continuing to cooperate with state investigators into what happened. "We reiterate that all protocols, procedures and safety measures provided by the manufacturer of the ride were followed," attorney Trevor Arnold said in an emailed statement.

A spokesperson for the landlord, ICON Park, did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

The tower drops riders nearly 400 feet at speeds that reach more than 75 miles an hour. An initial report conducted by outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said Sampson was not properly secured on the ride. It found sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in Sampson not being properly secured before he slipped out and fell to his death.

The Orlando Free Fall ride, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty, did not experience any electrical or mechanical failures, the report said.

The report said there were many other "potential contributions" to the accident and that a full review of the ride's design and operations was needed.

Sampson, visiting Orlando for spring break from the St. Louis area, was killed March 24.

Dodd said she was devastated when one of Tyre's friends called to tell her what happened, knowing she couldn't be there for her son.

She described her son as a humble, well-mannered boy who loved football, and she is convinced he would have played in the NFL.

"He was a go-getter," Dodd said. "He was on his way. He was going to be known — but not like this."