Many questions are, for now, left unanswered. They were not related to the boy. And now, the Verrckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas, is the site of a horrible accident, in which 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died Sunday. We agree with the courts decision that the grand jury was not given a fair picture of the evidence relating to this tragic accident, Justin Johnston, a lawyer for Mr. Schooley, said. Kansas City, Kansas, police say a 10-year-old boy who was killed while riding the world's tallest water slide died of a neck injury. Riders sit in multi-person rafts that begin with the steep drop, followed by a surge up a second hill before a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool. Follow her on Twitter (@Spitupnsuburbs), where she chronicles her love of exercising and drinking coffee, but never simultaneously. The netting that ultimately ended up killing the child was added to prevent the rafts from flying off of the slide completely., In the film, Schooley speaks to a reporter after having tested the ride himself. The park was closed down after the incident Sunday and remained closed Monday. She remembered a short video they were required to watch, though she didn't recall that it included any caveats about peril. The dismissed charges were based upon improper "illegal" evidence presented to a grand jury, ruled Judge Robert Burns of Wyandotte County, according to KMBC. She had told him that her safety belt's Velcro came undone toward the end of her ride. But the Kansas attorney general said in a statement that he may still consider future criminal charges. The slide's name means "insane" in German. The video, though, is a fictional and dramatized version of events created for entertainment purposes, he wrote, concluding that it should not have been allowed as evidence. As investigators continue to look for answers, chilling new video has emerged - detailing the dangers of the. ABC News talked with Esteban Castaneda, who witnessed the incident at the water park. According to the lawsuit, Verrckts design violated nearly all aspects of longstanding industry safety standards.. They're not technically really to hold you in.. "Before they took off I said, 'Brothers stick together' and [Caleb] said, 'I know, dad,'" Scott said. Riders are propelled by jets of water as they go over a hump while riding the world's tallest water slide called "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in 2014. was killed Sunday while riding "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. . Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. The park's spokeswoman didn't return messages Tuesday from The Associated Press seeking comment on the claims. Caleb struck the protective overhead netting and the metal poles that supported it, according to court documents previously obtained by PEOPLE. ", But how can a ride this extreme be safe for anyone? It appears that Schlitterbahn Waterpark was eager to open the ride to the public despite clear signs of safety hazards. Caleb was the son of Scott Schwab, a former Republican state senator who recently took office as the Kansas secretary of state. WARNING: The details in this story are graphic and may not be suitable for all readers. They said all rides are inspected daily before opening. After a boy died while riding a nearly 170-foot-tall waterslide in Kansas in 2016, state attorneys brought criminal charges against operators and associates of the water park . Kansas City Police also released more information about the incident Monday, calling the boy's death a "fatal neck injury at the end of the ride." Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. As chance would have it, Schwabs father was a Kansas state representative. All rights reserved. other recent tragedies are any indication. Caleb Schwab, the son of a state lawmaker, sustained a fatal "neck injury" at around 2:30 p.m. while riding the 168-foot-tall "Verruckt" (meaning "insane" in German) water slide, the Associated. Caleb Schwab died Sunday on a slide at the . You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Getty/Files. The water park passed a private inspection in June that included Verruckt, according to a document released by a Kansas state agency. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. There wasn't a lot of science or ride engineering involved in the testing and design, Truesdell said. I was hired as an admissions cashiertaking payment and . She had told him her safety belt's Velcro came undone toward the end of her ride. It features a 168-foot plummet, during which riders in three-person rafts travel as fast as 45 miles per hour. A person familiar with the investigation confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday the boy was decapitated. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Henry faced a charge of second-degree murder. The Velcro straps are just to make you feel safer. Still, if other recent tragedies are any indication, some people will undoubtedly judge his parents for allowing Caleb to ride this attraction. Numerous elected officials and their families were in the park when the tragedy happened. The corporation behind the Verruckt water slide in Kansas City and a former operations director who is being charged with manslaughter for the death of a 10-year-old boy did not have any proper . She said the ride's operators sent them down the slide even though their combined weight was 393 pounds shy of the 400 weight minimum the park advertises as a requirement. Kansas City Police also released more information about the incident Monday, calling the boy's death a "fatal neck injury at the end of the ride." Period, he said. And according to state law, they didnt need those credentials to deem their own ride safeunlike in the neighboring state of Missouri, water parks in Kansas do not require inspections by a state agency. - Claiming corporate executives were rushed, careless and lacked expertise to design a thrill ride . USA Today reports a full investigation is underway. The Nebraska man said he "just held on," and a video shot by his wife shows the strap loose at the ride's end. The lifeguard told Castaneda that there was nothing he could do to help. He said Caleb was a hugger who loved his parents, sports and Jesus. Jeffrey W. Henry at the Verrckt waterslide that he helped design for a Kansas water park. It's too awful to even imagine, but now his parents, State Representative Scott Schwab and his wife Michele, are mourning the loss of their young son. Esteban Castaneda told ABC News he first heard a "boom" on Schlitterbahn Waterpark's Verruckt water slide, which is promoted as the world's tallest. A lawyer who represented the Schwab family did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. All Rights Reserved. Visitors flocked to Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas, to experience its thrill. Castaneda said he noticed a lifeguard was trying to push the crowd back from the slide, but he continued to try to help because he thought there was someone lying face down in the water. In a statement, she said "a limited portion" of the park will reopen at midday Wednesday. But no matter the reason Caleb ultimately boarded the raft, no one in their worst nightmare would imagine a trip to an amusement park ending this way. They were sending sandbags down and basically hoping that they didn't fly off of the slide. Are Tarek and Christina Still Business Partners After 'Flip or Flop'? So they rode it again, only to see the restraint on her son's friend also come loose by the time it was over. A water park company's co-owner was arrested Monday in Texas in connection with a Kansas criminal case arising from a 10-year-old boy's death on what was promoted as the world's largest waterslide. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. T he death of a 10-year-old Kansas boy, who was decapitated on the world's tallest water slide over the weekend, has revived calls for change in the . It's the scariest thing I've done.". He said there were two women sitting in the back of the raft with blood on them. have been charged with second-degree murder and face charges of aggravated endangerment of a child and aggravated battery. Boy dies on 'world's biggest waterslide' at Kansas park Water slide death: 10-year-old Caleb Schwab is in heaven drinking chocolate milk, says friend An investigation has been launched into. The two women riding in the raft with Caleb suffered minor facial injuries. Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, was killed Sunday while riding "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. We noticed my friends harness was completely off and we overheard him yelling, you know, my harness is off and it had been off from the beginning of the ride, she said Wednesday morning. "You don't think you're gonna die.". Legal Statement. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The slide is 168-feet tall and has 264 stairs leading to the top -- taller than the Statue of Liberty. They were accused of reckless behavior in the design, construction and operation of the Verrckt and faced various charges that included aggravated child endangerment and second-degree murder. "No words can express the pain we all feel for this terrible tragedy. They were not related to the boy. ABC's Elizabeth Hur has the latest on a pair of amusement park accidents. However, once the boys made it to the rafts, the operator informed the pair that they would not be Continue reading Brother Of Boy Decapitated On Kansas . The designer of a Kansas waterslide that decapitated a 10-year-old boy was taken into custody after he arrived at a Texas airport late Monday, U.S. Feb. 24, 2019. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Ms Craig said that during her first trip down the ride with her son and one of his friends, her shoulder restraint came off, something she opted not to report to park workers. The world's tallest water slide turned deadly on Sunday after a Kansas state lawmaker's son was killed on the attraction. Along the way, riders clutch ropes along the inside of the raft. The 10-year-old son of Kansas politician Scott Schwab died while riding the world's tallest waterslide, the 17-storey Verruckt, in Kansas City, The Sun reports. The judge also sided with defense attorneys who complained that grand jurors were presented additional evidence that related to a death from a different Schlitterbahn waterpark, reports KMBC. The slide is 168 feet tall and has 264. In a statement, the Kansas attorney general, Derek Schmidt, did not rule out seeking criminal charges again. He rode the newly opened ride that day during an event at the waterpark for the families of elected officials, which included his father, former Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, who is now the Kansas secretary of state. Castaneda said that he heard booms coming from the area of the slide, and then saw a body wash down the slide directly after the raft did. Castaneda said that he heard booms coming from the area of the slide and then saw a body wash down the slide directly after the raft did. I didn't understand what was going on so I only saw Caleb sliding down the last half of the slide, and then I saw the blood. 2 Market data provided by Factset. According to People magazine, police have confirmed the child suffered a neck injury and was decapitated. Also indicted were Henry & Sons Construction Company and KC Waterpark Management, both affiliates of Schlitterbahn. AUGUST 9, 2016 REPORT: It's called "the world's tallest water slide," and it reaches higher than the Statue of Liberty and Niagara Falls. edit to add: From CNN's article - "Its height of 168 feet 7 inches is 5 feet taller than the previous record holder, a water slide at a Rio de Janeiro country . "The indictment said the Verruckt water slide raft at Kansas City's Schlitterbahn Waterpark "went airborne and collided with the overhead hoops and netting" designed to keep . Caleb's parents, Scott and Michelle Schwab, said in a 2017 interview on Good Morning America that they had taken their four sons to the water park, and that Caleb and his then 12-year-old brother, Nathan, both went to the top of the 170-foot slide. A 12-year-old boy died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, on the Kansas water slide that is billed as the world's largest, according to officials. On the day of Calebs accident, the Schwab family had been visiting the water park for Elected Official Day, an annual promotion from Schlitterbahn that offered free admission to Kansas elected officials and their families. It was at that point that he noticed the boy appeared to have been decapitated. The slide's name means "insane" in German. Pastor Clint Sprague, the family spokesperson for the Schwab family said they're heartbroken. My first thought was that it must have been a freak accidentwhat a horrible, horrible story, Truesdell told me. The video was intended to show that the defendants had exhibited a reckless attitude toward the construction of the slide, Judge Burns wrote. "It's an accident, but there is an accounting because someone was negligent," Caleb's father said on GMA. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The park was closed down after the incident Sunday and remained closed Monday. Riders plummeted down the nearly vertical 17-story chutetaller than Niagara Fallsat speeds up to 70. August 9, 2016 5:21 PM EDT. Past close calls reported after boy dies on waterslide Family took photos of friend's snapped harness; Details on 'Fox & Friends' Several passengers who rode the waterslide where a 10-year-old. See Which Celebrities Announced Pregnancies in 2023 So Far, See Teen Mom OG Alum Mackenzie Edwards Style Transformation: Photos. Jeffrey Henry, co-owner of the park, and John Schooley, the lead designer of the ride, have been charged with second-degree murder and face charges of aggravated endangerment of a child and aggravated battery. By Melissa Chan. The two women in Calebs raft sisters who sustained facial injuries and bone fractures also received settlements from the park. . Verruckt was certified as the world's tallest water slide by Guinness World Records. Nathan Truesdell, a filmmaker from nearby Missouri, heard about the devastating incident on the news. Are Janelle, Christine and Meri Suing Kody Over Money From Coyote Pass? KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) The young son of a Kansas state lawmaker died Sunday on a water slide that is billed as the world's largest, according to officials and the boy's family. However, the particular ride that killed a 10-year old boy Sunday remains closed. Had either of the parents ridden the slide before? Nathan went down the slide first and waited for Caleb at the bottom. "I didn't think much about it," she said. And now, the Verrckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas, is the site of a horrible accident, in which 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died Sunday. The slide is 168 feet and has 264 stairs leading to the top -- taller than the Statue of Liberty. Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick sent an email on Sunday to other members of the state legislature asking for their prayers for the Schwabs. Verruckt was certified as the world's tallest water slide by Guinness World Records. Erica Conrad, a season-pass holder, told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday she witnessed her friends close call last summer when his straps busted off during the ride. Access to the Verruckt remained blocked by a 7-foot-high wooden fence. But once I took a closer look, I started to realize how complicated this story really was, and how this could have happened to anyone who went down that slide.. The story, it turned out, was one of gross negligence, lax state regulations, and the consequences of hubris. WARNING: The details in this story are graphic and may not be suitable for all readers. Riders are told to hold ropes inside the raft. Dr. Robert Klapper says to start pool exercises as way to improve back, Elizabeth Holmes has 2nd child as she tries to avoid prison, TikTok sets new default time limits for teens. The slide is 168 feet tall and has 264 stairs leading to the top - taller than the Statue of Liberty. In the aftermath . We are good at sending thoughts and prayers, Truesdell quipped. A ride might be scary, but you figure that they have it figured out. The Verrckt German for "crazy" or "insane" had been named the world's tallest waterslide by Guinness World Records. Castaneda said two other woman were strapped into the raft, and the first position of the raft was empty. Speaking anonymously, a source close to the inquiry confirmed the boy was decapitated. Castaneda, who said he hasn't been interviewed by police, said that he started running toward the slide, then heard a lifeguard yelling and a boy screaming hysterically. Following the unspeakable accident, the park immediately shut down. Multiple injuries were reported before his incident. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. "We are obviously disappointed and respectfully disagree with the court's decision," Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a statement. The park reopened on Wednesday except for a large section that includes the waterslide, although its looming profile greeted visitors when they drove through the entrance. I know I will. Did he enjoy extreme rides? The child was riding on the Verruckt water slide when he died. The deadly accident happened Sunday at the Schlitterbahn Water Park. 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