Officials have announced that, while riding the 168-foot tall water slide, Schwab was ejected through the harness of his raft and hit the top safety netting of the slide.
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When it happened, I’m thinking thank God that it wasn’t my best friend because I’m the one who invited him there that day and I would have felt like it was my fault.
The police statement on the tragedy does not say what caused Caleb’s death, but it does indicate the fatal injury occurred “at the end” of the ride. FILE – In this Wednesday, March 18, 2015 file photo, Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab speaks at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan.
The Verrückt water slide is the tallest in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
Authorities still aren’t certain of the circumstances that surrounded the accident, but police officials said Monday night that a neck injury directly led to his death. Two women who were not related to the boy suffered only minor facial injuries. That age requirement is no longer posted on the park’s website, though passengers must be at least 4 feet, 6 inches tall and the combined weight of the passengers in the raft must fall between 400 and 550 pounds.
About 1,300 water parks operated in North America a year ago, up about 30 percent from a decade ago, according to the trade group World Waterpark Association. Questions remain over how exactly Caleb died, including whether the ride or safety equipment – as well as the Velcro straps and belt holding him into the raft – malfunctioned.
Park spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said the park’s rides are inspected every day and that an outside party inspects them at the start of the season.
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. The park was tentatively scheduled to reopen Wednesday, but Verruckt is closed, according to the statement.
In a separate interview, Kenneth Conrad told WDAF-TV he rode the waterslide previous year with a friend whose shoulder strap came “completely off”.
Jeff Henry, co-owner of Schlitterbahn, described the ride as “safe dangerous” in an interview with USA Today in 2014. A Schlitterbahn spokesman told a local Kansas news stations that all rides are inspected daily by personnel before the park opens. The weight of Schwab’s raft has not been stated.
Caleb’s family, who attend LifeMission Church in Olathe, Kansas, have been getting an outpouring of support since the accident.
The world’s largest water slide will stay closed the rest of the season due to the fatality of a rider.
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Verrückt is now closed as the incident is still under investigation.
