Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. edit to add: From CNN's article - "Its height of 168 feet 7 inches is 5 feet taller than the previous record holder, a water slide at a Rio de Janeiro country . ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream, was killed Sunday while riding "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. However, the particular ride that killed a 10-year old boy Sunday remains closed. Video: Murder charges are dismissed against owner of Kansas water park where 10-year-old boy was decapitated on 17-story slide GoPro footage shows the Schlitterbahn waterslide Verrckt that. Esteban Castaneda told ABC News he first heard a "boom" on Schlitterbahn Waterpark's Verruckt water slide, which is promoted as the world's tallest. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The water park passed a private inspection in June that included Verruckt, according to a document released by a Kansas state agency. It's unclear whether the straps on "Verruckt" - German for "insane" - played any role in the death of Caleb Schwab, a Kansas lawmaker's son. The two women riding in the raft with Caleb suffered minor facial injuries. A lawyer who represented the Schwab family did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Police said Caleb suffered a fatal neck injury. Riders are propelled by jets of water as they go over a hump while riding the world's tallest water slide called "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in 2014. was killed Sunday while riding "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. And according to state law, they didnt need those credentials to deem their own ride safeunlike in the neighboring state of Missouri, water parks in Kansas do not require inspections by a state agency. As originally reported by The National ENQUIRER, people at the popular Kansas . This Nov. 2013 file photo shows Schlitterbahn's Verruckt speed slide/water coaster in Kansas City. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. A company spokeswoman said in a statement that Schlitterbahn's owners embraced the judge's decision, according to the Times. It's too awful to even imagine, but now his parents, State Representative Scott Schwab and his wife Michele, are mourning the loss of their young son. On Monday, Jeffrey Henry, 62, co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, was arrested on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated child endangerment stemming from the Aug. 7, 2016, death of Caleb Schwab on Verruckt. 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KANSAS CITY, Kansas (WPVI) -- A witness to the tragic death of a 10-year-old boy on the world's tallest water slide in Kansas has revealed gruesome details of how the boy died. Schlitterbahn allegedly buried or downplayed these reports. The slide is 168 feet and has 264 stairs leading to the top -- taller than the Statue of Liberty. Castaneda saw the young victim, Caleb Schwab, lying in the water, but he said a lifeguard told him, "There's nothing you can do.". Removal of the slide had been delayed pending the investigation and trial on the criminal charges, but last year a court gave approval for it to be demolished. The video was intended to show that the defendants had exhibited a reckless attitude toward the construction of the slide, Judge Burns wrote. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? So they rode it again, only to see the restraint on her son's friend also come loose by the time it was over. And now, the Verrckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas, is the site of a horrible accident, in which 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died Sunday. Caleb Schwab, 10, was killed in an accident on a ride at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas, his family said on August 7, 2016. Additional charges against the defendants included reckless behavior in the design, construction and operation of the ride, along with aggravated child endangerment. We agree with the courts decision that the grand jury was not given a fair picture of the evidence relating to this tragic accident, Justin Johnston, a lawyer for Mr. Schooley, said. July 13 (UPI) --A judge has ruled a Kansas waterslide billed as the world's largest, where a boy was killed in 2016, will be demolished this summer.The 17-story Verruckt slide at Schlitterbahn . "[Nathan] was screaming, 'He flew from Verrckt, he flew Verrckt,'" Caleb's mother said. The slide's name means "insane" in German. The two women in his raft, who were not related to Caleb, suffered minor injuries, police said. The lifeguard told Castaneda that there was nothing he could do to help. Visitors flocked to Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas, to experience its thrill. 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. And, please, hug your kids just a little tighter today. She had told him her safety belt's Velcro came undone toward the end of her ride. ABC News talked with Esteban Castaneda, who witnessed the incident at the water park. Castaneda said he noticed a lifeguard was trying to push the crowd back from the slide, but he continued to try to help because he thought there was someone lying face down in the water. — -- 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 . After the tragedy, prosecutors led a Wyandotte County grand jury to approve charges of second-degree murder. Castaneda said he had ridden the slide earlier in the day with his cousin's 14-year-old daughter. The person . TheAtlantic.com Copyright (c) 2023 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. Paul Oberhauser told local television station KCTV his shoulder restraint "busted loose" on his Verruckt raft July 26. The slide is 168-feet tall and has 264 stairs leading to the top -- taller than the Statue of Liberty. Kansas City Police also released more information about the incident Monday, calling the boy's death a "fatal neck injury at the end of the ride." The Kansas City Star reports an attorney representing an affiliate of Kansas City, Kansas, park . Castaneda said noticed a lifeguard was trying to push the crowd back from the slide, but he continued to try to help because he thought there was someone lying face down in the water. The slide is 168 feet tall and has 264. After a boy died while riding a nearly 170-foot-tall waterslide in Kansas in 2016, state attorneys brought criminal charges against operators and associates of the water park . "We held each other and had a little emotional meltdown once we moved away from the immediate area," she says. German for insane, Verrckt was designed to challenge the laws of physics. At this time, we don't know the circumstances that led to Caleb riding this extreme slide. The water park is now closed, and the slide has been demolished. Caleb Schwab, 10, died on the world's tallest water slide in Kansas City in August 2016 Credit: David Strickland 7 The water slide in Kansas City was billed as the world's tallest at 168ft high 7 Fire engines pictured at the scene of the fatal accident in 2016 Credit: Reuters 7 According to People magazine, police have confirmed the child suffered a neck injury and was decapitated. Riders, who must be at least 54 inches tall, were harnessed with two nylon seatbelt-like straps one that crossed the rider's lap, the other stretching diagonally like a car shoulder seatbelt. The park was closed down after the incident Sunday and remained closed Monday. Truesdells chilling short documentary The Water Slide, premiering on The Atlantic today, uses news and promotional footage to depict the ill-conceived project and its tragic fallout. Despite the tragedy, visitor numbers were around average three days after, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. He was "affectionate" and a "hugger," Sprague said, and he loved baseball, basketball and his church. The death of a 10-year-old Kansas boy who was decapitated in a 2016 water slide accident led to criminal charges of recklessness and second-degree murder against the owner, designers and. Castaneda said two other women were strapped into the raft, and the first position of the raft was empty. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. The state alleged that the two men had rushed forward with the rides construction without the technical expertise required to design a properly functioning waterslide, skipped fundamental steps in the design process, and relied almost entirely on crude trial-and-error methods for safety testing. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. They realized that he was dead, so I don't think they tried to revive him.. Riders are propelled by jets of water as they go over a hump while riding a water slide called "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. other recent tragedies are any indication. She remembered a short video they were required to watch, though she didn't recall that it included any caveats about peril. ", In fact, even Henry told USA Today upon riding the Verrckt, "I'm still recovering mentally. Another rider, Kenneth Conrad, told WDAF-TV that during his trip down the waterslide last year with a friend, the friend's shoulder strap came "completely off." Family pastor Clint Sprague told reporters today that Caleb "was an incredible young man" who was "full of life.". They were accused of reckless behavior in the design, construction and operation of the Verrckt and faced various charges that included aggravated child endangerment and second-degree murder. ABC's Elizabeth Hur has the latest on a pair of amusement park accidents. 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 . It's important to point out that before riders (who must be at least 54 inches tall) board the raft, a park employee reads them a two-page safety warning. or redistributed. WARNING: The details in this story are graphic and may not be suitable for all readers. The slide is 168-feet tall and has 264 stairs leading to the top -- taller than the Statue of Liberty. "We will review the ruling carefully, including the court's observation that the ruling 'does not preclude the possibility that the State could continue to pursue this matter in a criminal court,' and take a fresh look at the evidence and applicable law in this tragic and troubling case to determine the best course forward.". This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "The indictment said the Verruckt water slide raft at Kansas City's Schlitterbahn Waterpark "went airborne and collided with the overhead hoops and netting" designed to keep . The judge also sided with defense attorneys who complained that grand jurors were presented additional evidence that related to a death from a different Schlitterbahn waterpark, reports KMBC. The slide's name means "insane" in German. World News | Reuters | Tuesday August 9, 2016 A water park in Kansas was closed on Monday as police investigated the death of a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son on the world's tallest water. Riders go down the slide in multi-person rafts and have to be at last 54 inches tall, according to the park's website. Kansas City Police also released more information about the incident Monday, calling the boy's death a "fatal neck injury at the end of the ride." A promotional video 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. He said there were two women sitting in the back of the raft with blood on them. The boy, Caleb Schwab, was with his family at the Schlitterbahn waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas, on Aug. 7, 2016, when the raft he was riding on the 17-story Verrckt waterslide went airborne at the crest of the drop. Riders plummeted down the nearly vertical 17-story chutetaller than Niagara Fallsat speeds up to 70 miles per hour. ABC News talked with Esteban Castaneda, who witnessed the incident at the water park. Riders go down the slide in multi-person rafts and have to be at last 54 inches tall, according to the park's website. Details surrounding the death remain. We are good at sending thoughts and prayers, Truesdell quipped. Caleb Schwab, 10, died in front of his family while riding a 168ft-high water slide in Kansas at Schlitterbahn Water Park. With opening day of Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City approaching, the Verrckt water slide still stands as a reminder of the grisly death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab last year. Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, was killed Sunday while riding "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. T he death of a 10-year-old Kansas boy, who was decapitated on the world's tallest water slide over the weekend, has revived calls for change in the . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Caleb was found dead in a pool at the bottom of the slide. 90 Day Fiance Stars Weve Lost Over the Years, Still Together? A memorial service is planned for Friday afternoon. '' on his Verruckt raft July 26 Caleb suffered minor injuries, police said to charges! Operation of the ride, along with aggravated child endangerment Up to 70 miles hour... 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