On Saturday morning, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson was laid to rest in his hometown of St. Louis, Fox 2 Now reports.
The ceremony came two weeks after the teen was tragically killed in a thrill ride accident in Orlando, Florida. Sampson was on a free-fall ride when he slipped out of his harness and fell several hundred feet, dying instantly.
Family, friends, and former teammates celebrated Sampson’s life at Saint Louis University. The aspiring football player was described as a larger-than-life teen who spread love to all he encountered.
There’s a lot of love here,” Kelly Southhall, a family friend, told KSDK. “There’s a lot of support. No mother should have to go through this.”
At just 14 years old, Sampson stood at 6’4, 325 pounds. He had hopes of playing professional football and was well on his way before his tragic death. Sampson’s cousin Reggie Rights vows to take the teen with him wherever he goes.“He was always asking me: What I wanted to do when I got older; who did I want to be like,” Rice said. “I said, ‘I don’t know. Who do you want to be like? He said nobody. I just want to be myself.’”
One teacher who made over 100 buttons with Sampson’s pictures to give out at the funeral remembered all the teen’s potential and how he helped younger students at City Garden Montessori School.
“I would always tease him about the size of his shoe,” Vida Weekly, a former teacher, said. “He would joke and laugh it off. He would say, ’17! Say it real proud.’”
“I pray that somebody in this situation learns from this,” she added.
Sampson was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery. Authorities are still investigating the death on the ride closed since the accident.