The waters are shallow and lifeguards are seemingly everywhere at the proliferating number of water parks around the U.S. 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.
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According to Time, Caleb rode the slide with two women he was not related to. They suffered minor facial injuries and were treated at an area hospital, police said.
Instead, the Kansas City attraction – which holds the Guinness World Record for tallest water slide – was only checked by certified inspectors at the Schlitterbahn water park. Police officials have not said if Caleb or his passengers met both the height and weight requirements.
Schlitterbahn is tentatively scheduled to reopen on Wednesday.
The water slide takes riders almost 170 feet off the ground at its highest point.
The Kansas City Star newspaper said the park was teeming with children of legislators and their parents – they were enjoying free passes – when the accident occurred.
The Kansas Department release said it has requested documentation from Schlitterbahn to ensure all safety requirements were followed.
The Republican state representative and his wife, Michele, issued a statement, delivered Sunday night by Pastor Clint Sprague of Life Mission Church on their behalf, to express their gratitude for the compassion they’ve received as they mourn the untimely loss of their youngest son, Caleb Thomas.
His son died from a fatal neck injury after riding the Verruckt water slide, billed as the world’s tallest at 17 stories high and over 168 feet tall. The commission also said lobbyists must report their contributions to the state.
Authorities are still investigating what happened. The park pushed back the slide’s 2014 opening for months and said there were glitches with its conveyors. State law and regulations require that amusement parks perform annual safety inspections by safety officials licensed by the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.
Castaneda told ABC News that he had ridden the slide earlier in the day with his cousin’s 14-year-old daughter and she told him that her safety belt’s Velcro came undone toward the end of her ride.
A promotional video for a show about building the slide includes footage of two men riding a raft down a half-size test model and going slightly airborne as it crests the top of the first big hill.
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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.
