Photo courtesy of Exact New Worth
YK Osiris has offered to cover funeral costs for a 14-year-old who fell to his death on an amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida, earlier this week.
The “Ride” singer took to his Instagram stories on Saturday and made a kind offer to the family of Tyre Sampson — the St. Louis football star who died after riding the 430-foot Free Fall at Icon Park on Thursday night.
“If anybody knows his family tell them to DM me because I want to pay for his funeral cost,” Osiris wrote. DJ Akademiks reshared the Jacksonville, Florida native’s Instagram story on his account.
The teen’s father, Yarnell Sampson, has demanded answers after learning about his son’s death from a video that went viral on social media. He said Tyre went on the trip to Orlando through a football program. While he wanted his son to have fun, Yarnell never imagined that he would not make it back home alive, WESH 2 reported.
“I wish I was there to tell him I love him. That I’m sorry. For him to lose his life. So young, and I wish it was me,” Yarnell said. “I want to know what happened to my son. I want to know why my son is in a white bag, having to get shipped back home. He walked there. Why he can’t walk back? I want answers from everybody. Who all was involved in that?”
He continued: “It felt like somebody hit me so hard in my stomach. I just lost, I lost, lost wind. And the pain behind it could never be taken away, and sorry’s not gonna take it back and no monies, no nothing in the world to replace the young man. And it’s just sad, a young man’s bright future was taken away from him over a ride, an amusement park,” Yarnell Sampson said.
Many have speculated whether Tyre’s weight was a factor in his death. His father said his son was 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighed 340 pounds.
“This one particular ride said, ‘We can take you, come on! Get on!’ No one else allowed him to get on the ride, so I’m wondering what happened between now and then that made them say, ‘Come on, get this ride!” Yarnell said.
“This should never happen to anyone else’s child ever again, and if I have anything to do with this, it will not happen ever again,” he added.
News Onyx reported that the 14-year-old was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Yarnell hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent him and his family. Crump made a statement on Saturday regarding the heartbreaking loss of the Missouri native with a bright future.
“This young man was the kind of son every parent hopes for — an honor roll student, an aspiring athlete, and a kid-hearted person who cared about others. Needless to say, his family is
absolutely devastated. A fun theme park visit with his football team should not have ended in tragedy,” Crump said in the statement. “Bob Hillard and I, on behalf of both parents, Yarnell and Neki, inted to get answers for Tyre’s grieving family and request prayers as they shoulder this unthinkable loss.”