It was supposed to be just another summer day at the Kansas City water park until Jess Sanford and Melanie Gocke witnessed something that would be imprinted on their minds forever: the death of 10-year-old Caleb Thomas Schwab from a neck injury while riding the world’s tallest water slide.
Advertisement
In this photo taken with the fisheye lens, riders go down the world’s tallest water slide called “Verruckt” at Schlitterbahn Waterpark, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, in Kansas City, Kan.
Kansas authorities initially said the boy died from a neck injury.
In June the water park had passed a private inspection including the Verruckt according to a Kansas State agency document.
Kansas statutes governing amusement rides don’t specifically mention waterslides. As we try to 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. His funeral will be held on Friday.
“You’d think for something that’s supposed to be known for being the tallest slide in the world they’d have a little bit more secure straps than Velcro”, Sanford said.
Two women who are not family members were in the raft at the time with the boy and were treated for facial injuries.
At least two people who recently rode on Verruckt – German for “insane” – have said the nylon shoulder straps came loose during the ride.
The Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County said it does not inspect the operations of such rides and is responsible only for ensuring they’ve adhered to local building codes.
The park reopened Wednesday except for a large section that includes the waterslide, although its towering profile greeted visitors when they drove through the entrance.
State law leaves it to the Kansas Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations relating to certification and inspection of rides, adding that a permanent amusement ride must be scrutinized by “a qualified inspector” at least every 12 months.
A spokeswoman for the waterpark declined to discuss the circumstances of the boy’s death.
The apparent shift away from the age restriction could be one of the questions in determining liability, according to CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman, who said the park owner and ride designer face potential legal troubles over Schwab’s death.
“Verruckt” riders sit in multi-person rafts that begin with a steep drop, followed by a surge up a second hill before a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool.
Kenneth Conrad told WDAF-TV his friend’s shoulder strap came “completely off” when they were on the waterslide a year ago.
“I feel guilty having fun when a family is hurting so badly”, she said.
The Nebraska man said he reported the matter to park workers.
Advertisement
The ride was meant to open to the public in May 2014, but this date was pushed back due to tests shown in the video above of rafts carrying sandbags flying off the slide, leading engineers to reconfigure parts of the ride. She said she wriggled out of them without much effort. “We had many issues on the engineering side”, said Henry, calling Verruckt “dangerous, but it’s a safe dangerous now”, according to USA Today. Two media sneak preview days in 2014 were cancelled because of problems with a conveyor system that hauls 100-pound rafts to the top of the slide.
