On Sunday, 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died after he went airborne on the Verruckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn water park, and broke his neck when he collided with a safety net.
Advertisement
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports there are no state inspections of Verruckt. He said people shouldn’t be risking their lives in having fun at an amusement park.
The Labor Department has requested Schlitterbahn’s inspection paperwork after the tragedy “to ensure all safety requirements have been followed”, Hersh said. The state Department of Labor is required to randomly audit inspection records.
It’s unclear whether the straps on “Verruckt” – German for “insane” – played any role in Sunday’s death of Caleb Schwab, a Kansas lawmaker’s son. This June 2016 photo provided by David Strickland shows Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Scott Schwab, a Kansas state lawmaker from Olathe.
House Majority Leader Jene Vickrey said lawmakers’ immediate focus is on supporting the Schwab family.
Prosapio said the Verrückt ride wouldn’t reopen this season, which ends September 5.
Zoombezi Bay GM John Gannon said none of the rides locally are comparable to the thrill slide in Kansas City.
The waterslide is billed as the world’s tallest, measuring 168-feet high. Incidents like what happened in Kansas City are extremely rare.
Paul Oberhauser told local television station KCTV that the safety restraints on his raft on the Verruckt waterslide weren’t working properly when he rode it on July 26 at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark. He says he told workers about the loose strap.
Kenneth Conrad told WDAF-TV that he rode the waterslide past year with a friend whose shoulder strap came “completely off”.
The authorities in the U.S. state of Kansas are investigating the death of a 10-year-old boy when he was taking a ride on what is billed as the world’s tallest water slide. He was the son of state Rep. Scott Schwab of Olathe, and the family was at the park for Elected Officials Day.
The park is tentatively scheduled to reopen Wednesday, though the waterslide remains closed.
Kansas statutes leave it to its 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”.
“It is a death investigation”.
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.
Caleb was one of three passengers riding in a raft on the Verruckt waterslide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark when the accident occurred. Emergency responders found the boy dead in a pool at the end of the ride. The other passengers sustained minor facial injuries.
Kansas authorities said the boy died from a neck injury.
Advertisement
Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said Sunday the park’s rides are inspected daily and by an “outside party” before the start of each season. “There are no federal standards and so it really is up to the park operators, the manufacturers of the rides and the states to make sure this is a safe environment”, said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council.
