He was found dead at the bottom of the slide, and the two women who were with him were treated for minor injuries. This is absolutely horrible! RELATED: Witness Describes 'Horrific Scene' at Water Park After Boy Died. Sanford immediately realized the fear she nervously joked about hours prior was beginning to unfold in real time. Kansas City Police have released more information about the tragic incident, saying the young boy suffered a "fatal neck injury at the end of the ride". Seems rather odd for something like this, especially if that is what contributed to this? WHAT DO STATES DO TO REGULATE WATER PARKS? Courtesy Schwab Family -- A 10-year-old boy who died on a water slide in Kansas City, Kansas, suffered a fatal neck injury, officials said, as a witness recounted the "horrific scene" and the "panic" that erupted in the wake of the incident last Sunday. But dominating Texas wasnt enough for the Henrys. Henry noticed something. Castaneda said a lifeguard was trying to control the crowd as he tried to help but soon it seemed apparent that the boy had been decapitated. I have to admit that this slide does look freaking crazy scary! As soon as his raft hit that first drop, the velocity of the fall caused Dueass strap to come flying off. In addition, the judge found that witnesses improperly testified about the 2013 death of a lifeguard at Schlitterbahn's South Padre Island water park in Texas, which he said would be inadmissible . Local media has since revealed the water slide involved in the incident had not been inspected by the state since it opened two years ago. I feel really bad about this now, the nineteen-year-old told Esquire about that day, but I was joking with the lifeguard, asking her if anyone had ever died on this thing. The comments below have been moderated in advance. Investigators are treating the death as a 'civil matter' rather than a criminal incident, a police spokesman said Monday, as the park and Kansas authorities pressed to sort out what caused the tragedy. (Baetz and Barnes, the two sisters who rode with Caleb and suffered serious facial injuries, settled with Schlitterbahn for an undisclosed amount in 2017. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, had already put together an effort to convince residents to spend their recreational dollars in Kansas instead of Missouri. Time, is of the essence. Henry wanted to change that. . This is a scary picture. TWO teenagers have described the horrific moment they saw a trail of blood following Caleb Schwab's body down a waterslide - after he was tragically killed on the 168ft-high ride. I remember watching the TV show last year of them building it and having to re-profile it a couple of times due to the dummies flying out of the tube and chute. And she hasn't removed her tweet about it being a decapitation. The big slide there - Verruckt, or German for "insane" - has been closed since Caleb died. According to the police report, Caleb Schwab died of a neck injury and was decapitated while riding the 168-foot Verruckt water slide. An excerpt of a first person account of riding the Verruckt water slide for the first time published by the Associated Press gave an idea of how uniquely terrifying the water slide truly could be. The boy's family had reached a settlement with . Gocke said she saw Caleb falling down the slide, leaving a trail of blood behind him. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Drownings also occur. Kansas City Police confirmed the boy had died froma 'fatal neck injury at the end of the ride, in the pool'. Did Rupert Murdoch Blow Up Fox News's Defense? The safety of our guests is a priority, so in addition to the safety and what happened on the ride, our staff are affected. He said he had to grip the handles using his legs and told park staff what happened once he got down. J[. But the death over the weekend of a Kansas state lawmaker's 10-year-old son on a waterslide billed as the world's largest is the latest example that dangers lurk in the appealing slides and wave pools. Riders sit in a three-person raft and are secured with straps across the waist and shoulders, like a seat belt. State law leaves it to the Kansas Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations relating to certification and inspection of rides, adding that an amusement ride at a permanent location 'shall be self-inspected by a qualified inspector at least every 12 months.'. The death of a 10-year-old at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas was even more devastating than could have been imagined with witnesses confirming that tragic child Caleb Schwab was decapitated while riding down the 168-foot-tall Verrckt slide! That article didn't mention the slide . Aside from the steady soundtrack of Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber, Schlitterbahn was eerily quiet from my float on Boogie Bay. I stared at the white waterslide once described by Henry as an erotic piece of artits curves and drops were as grand and ambitious as advertised. Two horrified witnesses to the death of the boy decapitated by the world's largest waterslide have spoken out about the gruesome scene. In early tests, rafts carrying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half of the ride and reconfigure some angles at a cost of $1 million, Henry said. "They realised that he was dead, so I don't think they tried to revive him," Sanford said. ), The only time I saw the slide run successfully was on the Travel Channel episode, but I wouldnt even call that successful, said the lifeguard, who was part of a select group of employees present for the taping after the park closed that day. We have to understand what's happened. But the people who did float would share a pause, head shake, or murmur to look at the slide before returning to their conversations. Tom Sloan, a former twelve-term Republican state representative out of Lawrence who pushed for revised legislation on amusement-park safety in 1999 and 2001, saw firsthand how the money promised to the area coupled with the lacking oversight was going to make it easy for Schlitterbahn to get green-lit. Jess Stanford and Melanie Gocke were at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, on the same day a ten-year-old boy was killed on the 17-storey ride last week. The child who died was the oldest son of Kansas Rep. Scott Schwab, R-Olathe. A source familiar with the investigation into the boy's death told the Associated. In April 2017, the Kansas legislature, following an impassioned speech from Calebs father, strengthened a law on amusement-ride inspections that previously allowed amusement-park operators to not share private inspections with state officials, giving the state one of the weakest sets of regulations nationwide. During the former employees final summer in 2014, the one in which Verrckt was set to open, the lifeguard remembered how Schlitterbahn tended to do the test runs after the park closed at 6 p.m., away from the public. Verruckt was certified as the world's tallest water slide by Guinness World Records the water park's website reportedly said riders had to be at least 54 inches (137 centimetres tall) to get on the slide. As he looked down, he says he saw the young boy who appeared to have been decapitated. The Red Cross swim app is also available, which is designed for children and their parents. In a statement Monday afternoon, Schlitterbahn said it was 'deeply and intensely saddened for the Schwab family and all who were impacted by the tragic accident.' Two horrified witnesses have spoken out about the gruesome scene when a boy was decapitated by the world's largest waterslide. August 7, 2016 in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys! Four rides at the water park remained closed after regulators found that Schlitterbahn did not comply with new legislation implemented in response to Schwabs death. Grisly new details about the boy killed on the world's largest water slide are emerging with one witness claiming the child was . TOPEKA, Kansas -- 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. Timothy Bella is a staff writer and editor for the Washington Post, focusing on national news. Standing on a platform more than 168 feet high and overlooking the flat entirety of the Kansas plains, Jess Sanford was scared. In March 2018, a forty-seven-page indictment from a grand jury in Wyandotte County revealed, among other things, whistle-blower evidence of how Schlitterbahn officials allegedly covered up other safety-related incidents on Verrckt, and concluded that the slides lack of safety standards posed a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or severe bodily harm. While it isnt unique for amusement parks to get sued for isolated incidents, the magnitude of the Schwab tragedy, and Schlitterbahns decorated profile, made the grand jurys findings of the water parks negligence that much more damning. The slide will be closed pending a full investigation. I think just the excitement of the ride itself drowned out the frightening part of the straps coming off, Dueas told Esquire. Two horrified witnesses have spoken out about the gruesome scene when a boy was decapitated by the world's largest waterslide. A Wyandotte County judge has thrown out all five remaining criminal indictments stemming from the death three years ago of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab on the Verruckt water slide at the. A 12-year-old boy died Sunday afternoon on the tallest water slide in the world, the Verrckt, at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kan. A park spokeswoman confirmed the death at a news conference Sunday afternoon. Though its two highest attended parks, New Braunfels and Galveston, remained in the top ten for U.S. water-park attendance last year, they were both down 3 percent each from their 2016 attendance. Photo: David Strickland via AP. Messages left Monday with Kansas' Labor Department were not immediately returned. In a bid to impress the producers, Henry told them he was building the biggest, tallest, and fastest waterslide in the world. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Prosapio said Sunday that the park's rides are inspected daily and by an 'outside party' before the start of each season. By The blueprints for the once-projected $750 million development made the sprawling attraction look like something never before seen outside Disney, let alone at a water park. I didnt feel secure.. http://fox4kc.com/on-air/live-streaming-sc/. Looks to me to be on the downslope of the second, smaller hill: Why is there netting around the slide? I have been very intimidated of this ride since I saw that video of the tests where the boats were flying to the moon. I am also intrigued if this was a ride malfunction or a lack of obeying the park rules. Another witness Kelsey Friedrichsen said she's seen Caleb fly out of the ride after the first drop and hit the netting enclosing the ride before plummeting 50ft. Since then, Schlitterbahn has become a rite of passage for anyone whos had to bear a Texas summer. A couple of hours later on August 7, 2016, Scott Schwab brought his wife and four sons to the park. "It is almost a concession that they screwed up. Paul Oberhauser told CBS News that his safety belt came off while riding with a friend and his 9-year-old son about two weeks ago. Riders go down the slide in multi-person rafts. All of the regulations are really done at the state and local level with respect to amusement parks and waterparks. He was being held without bond, and a jail booking clerk said he would remain there until a court appearance Tuesday. In plot A373 under a shady tree at Pleasant Valley Cemetery, fresh flowers, a pinwheel, and a worn Kansas City Royals flag waves next to a headstone featuring Caleb Schwabs smiling face. Though Hutfles said he had no problem with it, he said the company preferred to be granted a Disney exception, a clause Schlitterbahn had been operating under in Texas that allows for company inspection, in conjunction with the state.. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For what is your life? Who are the new brides and grooms on Married At First Sight Australia? Whatever the investigators discover, the news will come too late for Caleb Schwab; a kid who just wanted to try out a big, cool water slide. From the ninth floor of his office, staring at Verrckt was once inescapable: It [stood] as a monument to a murder.. She said her flotation tube collided with another tube during the descent sending her flying. According to People . Updated on: August 9, 2016 / 7:35 AM / CBS News . Schlitterbahns flagship in New Braunfels, as well as its parks in Kansas City and South Padre Island. He did, however, grant an interview to a local Fox affiliate several months after the second anniversary of Calebs death. Miles's attorneys declined to be interviewed. Oh dear lord above, I was sincerely praying for someone to say that slide was painted red. The park was hit with fines of $96,000 although they settled for $66,000. I can't even imagine the sheer terror for everyone involved. The Verruckt water slide requires riders to be strapped in with seatbelts and is designed more like a roller coaster, with netting surrounding the slide to prevent rafts from catapulting into the air. (Brownback, now the U.S. ambassador for International Religious Freedom, declined to be interviewed.) In early tests, rafts carrying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half of the ride and reconfigure some angles at a cost of $1 million, Henry said. Over two years after 10-year-old Caleb Schwab lost his life on the tallest waterslide in the world, the amusement park industry has yet to fully reckon with the tragedy. In 2013, lifeguard Nico Benavides, 20, was killed at the company's park on South Padre Island, Texas, when a mechanical door slammed on the guard's head. She claimed there were no lifeguards on duty at the time to help and she had to be saved from the water by waterpark customers. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. A water park and a former employee have been indicted in the death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, who was decapitated while riding the Verrckt waterslide in 2016. As we try and mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in his saviour, Jesus, and they are forever together now. Esteban Castaneda, who was at the Kansas City waterpark, told ABC 7he heard loud booms coming from the ride before noticing a body wash down after a raft. We may earn a commission from these links. I said, Mmmm, I just announced this major new ride. Steven Tyson, his assistant at the time, added: He wasnt the tallest and he wasnt the fastest, so he decided to make that happen., Schooley would recall to Gizmodo in July 2014 their reasoning for building Verrckt: Basically, we were crazy enough to try anything.. In July, a court granted Schlitterbahn permission to tear down Verrckt, which is now complete. ] He followed up that same day: I have to micro manage this. When their raft went airborne at the second hill, Grovess face and forehead smashed into an overhead hoop and safety netting before the raft hit a concrete wall. Courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts; Retouching: Will Herwig. Galveston's Schlitterbahn does not have the slide Schwab was killed on, but. The park will be closed todayand the ride will be closed pending the investigation, Prosapio said. The 168ft-high Verruckt, which means "insane" in German, was certified as the world's tallest water slide by Guinness World Records. They said they did not know what had happened. Boy, 12, dies on Verrckt slide at Schlitterbahn water park in KCK, http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article94254507.html#storylink=cpy, http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2014/07/09/verruckt-water-slide-schlitterbahn-park/12411769/. The two women who rode with Caleb suffered serious injuries and settled claims with Schlitterbahn for an undisclosed amount. Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapiotold reporters at a press conference: ""We honestly don't know what's happened. The whole time youre going down, you can see the net above you where people or the raft had hit it before, Egan said. Authorities initially said the victim was 12 years old, but Clint Sprague, a pastor acting as the family's spokesman, said Caleb was 10 and is one of the couple's four sons. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article94254507.html#storylink=cpy. Witnesses of waterslide tragedy recount boy's fatal fall. A Schlitterbahn spokeswoman, Winter Prosapio, said the park had been shut down indefinitely and "a full investigation" is underway. Its dangerous, but its a safe dangerous now, Henry told USA Today in the lead-up to the opening. There was a very strong majority of legislators from that part of the state who said Schlitterbahn would be responsible for their own safety measures.. The trust said that if the company defaults on its Kansas City mortgage, then the loan would either be restructured or EPR could even foreclose on Schlitterbahns collateral that got the loan in the first place. You read it quietly and are reminded again that Caleb Schwab should still be here. I can't even begin to imagine the devastation this family is feeling. Roller coaster death tragedy. Do you have any engineering or business background? Kansas City, Kansas -- A judge dismissed criminal charges Friday against a Kansas water park owner and the designer of a 17-story slide on which a 10-year-old boy was decapitated in 2016 . The financial crisis of 2008 caused priorities to shift in many areas, including the amusement-park industry. Dueas and his friend were egging on his son, Jeffrey, then eleven years old, to join them, but Jeffrey was scared. "That was when my boyfriend said, 'I think there is someone else. And then I came back and told my brother and sister. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. As Dueas and his group were leaving the park, he ran into the man who had gone in the raft ahead of him. Sign up for a new account in our community. On vacation from Lincoln, Nebraska, with her friend Melanie Gocke and her friends family in August 2016, Sanford, then a rising high school junior, didnt know anything about Schlitterbahn Kansas City. Caleb Schwab AP. Todd Kohlhepp murdered 4 employees at the Superbike Motorsport in South Carolina, after the employees had "embarrassed" him and refused to give him a refund for a motorcycle. "), "I believe the state's presentation today only reinforces the validity of our arguments," said attorney Jeff Morris on January 25. Boats were flying to the opening rides are inspected daily and by an 'outside party ' the! And his Group were leaving the park 's rides are inspected daily by! 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