Caleb Thomas Schwab, Kansas Politician's Son, Dies On World's Tallest Water Slide. The late Caleb Schwab, 10 (2nd Right), is pictured with his brothers, father, Republican Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, and mother, Michele. John Schooley, who designed the killer slide, and fellow co-owner Jeff Henry originally faced charges of involuntary manslaughter and a number of others over Caleb's death, but the charges were dropped in 2019 owing to "improper evidence and testimony". You read it quietly and are reminded again that Caleb Schwab should still be here. Passengers board a three-person raft and experience a 17-story drop before being blasted back up a second massive hill to drop down another 50ft. Sometimes I cant get out of bed for four days., He had decided to talk to me, he said, so that people would understand he had done nothing wrong. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. But instead of staying in its fiberglass flume and cresting the hill, the raft flew up into the air. Kelsey Friedrichsen was visiting the park . Heres everything you need to know about The Grinch sequel, plus the best books your kid can check out now. It was a Sunday afternoon, August 7, 2016, the temperature a pleasant 78 degrees, as ten-year-old Caleb Schwab began the 264-step climb to the top of Verrckt, the worlds tallest waterslide, which loomed like a colossus over the forty-acre Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. The park issued a statement Monday saying it was deeply and intensely saddened for the Schwab family and all who were impacted by the tragic accident. The water park closed following the incident and will remain shuttered until Wednesday at the earliest, although the slide will not reopen. Scott and Michelle Schwab have spoken out for the first time about the tragic death of their son Caleb. Republican lawmaker Scott Schwab's son Caleb died on the Verruckt attraction at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. The other is James 4:14. They then headed to Kansas City to build the 168-foot, 7-inch Verrckt. I didnt hear anyone mention the indictments in Kansas City. 2 Children frolicked in watery playgrounds, teenagers lined up to ride the Boogie Bahn and the water coasters, and parents floated on the artificial rivers. I looked over and saw his broken neck and him sliding down the slide leaving a blood trail, a witness aid. That is, until August 7, 2016, when the raft that 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was riding went airborne and hit a metal pole supporting a safety net, resulting in his decapitation and instant. But in the U.S., water park rides are not tightly regulated. Industry insiders said the Kansas City Schlitterbahn needed a joltsomething big, really bigthat would help it live up to the early hype and investment. To: sandra@sandrarose.com. Aug. 18 2016, Updated 8:24 a.m. Designers of the waterslide had so many problems they had to delay the grand opening. Police have revealed that 10-year-old Caleb Schwab - who was involved in a fatal accident at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City on Sunday - died of a "neck injury," PEOPLE confirms.. He later added another water coaster, the Master Blaster, that was six stories tall and filled with thrilling hairpin turns. When he wasnt working on Schlitterbahn rides, Jeff exported his inventions around the world. Police have revealed that 10-year-old Caleb Schwab - who was involved in a fatal accident at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City on Sunday - died of a "neck injury," PEOPLE confirms.. But nobody bothered to tell me something was wrong with it., As for the outside engineering firms finding that a raft with three passengers weighing between 400 and 550 pounds could go airborne, Jeff said he thought it relied on outdated information. According to Texas Department of Insurance spokesman Jerry Hagins, the inspector is charged only with making sure that the ride is in sound condition and meets the manufacturers specifications. In other words, a water park is allowed to police itself. But there is nothing in the law that requires the inspector to have any particular certifications. In a documentary, The Water Slide, footage showed rafts filled with sandbags repeatedly becoming airborne during testing. The Henrys moved into a small house on the property, which they renamed the Landa Resort. 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. Caleb Schwab Death: Source Reveals Horrific Details of Boy's Water Slide Accident By Associated Press Nationwide PUBLISHED 4:32 PM ET Aug. 10, 2016 KANSAS CITY, Kan. A 10-year-old boy was decapitated as he rode a 168-foot tall waterslide at a water park in Kansas, a person familiar with the investigation said Wednesday. In the water park business, Jeff was considered a genius of sortsan out of the box visionary of waterpark designs, wrote Tim OBrien in his 2006 book Legends: Pioneers of the Amusement Park Industry. Bring on the Shiplap? According to park rules, a Verrckt rider had to be at least 54 inches (4 feet 6 inches) tall. In a field near Schlitterbahns corporate headquarters, in New Braunfels, they constructed a small model of Verrckt, one twelfth the size of the real thing, and they sent a model car down the slide, along with cantaloupes and watermelons, to test it. It still wasnt working, he said. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved. Jeffs job was to fill the park with new attractions, and he didnt disappoint. Schlitterbahn was perhaps not the scene of a freak horrific accident, the prosecutors were saying, but the scene of a crime. (WFLA) The theme park with one of the most gruesome accidents in U.S. History is once again open for business. (By this time, Bob had handed off the company to his three children, giving each of them a third of the voting shares.) I recently drove to the original Schlitterbahn, in New Braunfels. You know the [raft] that went airborne on our ninety-footmodel in New Braunfels? Soon, reporters from an array of media outletsUSA Today, Wired, ESPNs Grantland, even Smithsonian magazinewere calling to ask Jeff about his latest adventure, and he was always ready with a good quote. (Schlitterbahn continues to manage the park. According to investigators, Miles hadnt even ordered repairs when a Schlitterbahn manager informed him, on July 15, 2016 (three weeks before Calebs death), that maintenance work on Verrckts brake system was a priority. It was reported that the boy died on the world's tallest water slide in Kansas. If any raft had left the surface, that ride should have been shut down, and I would have gone straight there to figure out what was wrong, he said. People got in line to ride Verrckt. For the most devoted fans, Schlitterbahn is an aquatic version of Disney World, with something for everyone, from huge playgrounds for children to swim-up bars for adults that serve beer and margaritas. It was a gloriously sunny afternoon, the kind tailor-made for Jeffs innocent old vision of summer fun. He also heatedly denied allegations that he had been worried about Verrckts dangers as he was building it, chuckling mirthlessly when he told me hed been acting when he made his fearful on-camera comments, a few of which were quoted verbatim in the indictment. The Verruckt is the largest of its kind in the world. I want to have the biggest, the tallest, and the fastest rides at my parks., Like his father, Gary, the eldest child, had a sharp, analytical mind. They believed it was a valuable piece of evidence that should not be touched. You really dont know.. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Caleb Schwab died in front of his family while riding a 168ft-high water . He bought a piece of property next door to the Landa, built a sixty-foot replica of a German castle (to reflect New Braunfelss heritage), and had four blue fiberglass waterslides erected around the castle. Schwab, the son of a Kansas state legislator, died from a neck injury The accident occurred at the world's tallest water slide, which will remain closed during the investigation CNN Although the federal governments Consumer Product Safety Commission has the authority to set safety standards for such products as baby cribs and bicycles, it has no authority to regulate water parks. According to People. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Once again, Jeff later insisted to me that he had been hamming it up for the camera and that he did not in fact see a raft fly off the chute on opening day. Decapitated 10-Year-Old. After Calebs death, advocates urged officials to step in to change how the amusement park industry is run. (And he did get good news in July, when prosecutors agreed to let the company tear down Verrckt this fall.) The gate swung open, and the conveyor belt underneath the raft began to move. Caleb Schwab died in front of his family while riding a 168ft-high water slide in Kansas, billed as the world's tallest. On April 25, 2014, Jeff climbed to the top of the Verrckt tower with Kansas governor Sam Brownback and officials from Guinness World Records, who proclaimed that Verrckt was indeed the tallest waterslide in the world. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. But prosecutors could tell the jury that Jeff and Schooley knew very well that Verrckt could lead to a catastrophe, yet they continued to push forward. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Man hospitalized after shooting in Holiday, Florida Strawberry Festival kicks off this week, Vanessa Bryant receives nearly $29 million settlement, DeSantis-picked trustees vote to eliminate diversity, Gov. [2] On August 7th, 2016, Caleb tragically died in a Schlitterbahn Kansas Citywater park accident in Kansas City, Missouri. . He gave river tours, and he operated a petting zoo. He posted a $500,000 bond and surrendered his passport. The video begins with a couple of thrill-seekers putting their lives on the line as they take a test run down the unfinished, open chute. Bob, Billye, and the kidsGary, Jeff, and Janapiled into the familys Ford station wagon and drove to the Landa to give it a look. Im telling you, the ride that was built by John Schooley and Jeff Henry is not the same ride that that boy was on the day he died.. A detective interviewed 29-year-old Tyler Miles, who had been working at the park since 2013 and had advanced from construction worker to lifeguard to director of operations, responsible for all aspects of the parks day-to-day ride operations. In five of the incidents, riders claimed they were injured while their rafts were still in the chute. Jeff Henry often said that his goal in life was to make customers of his familys legendary water parks happyto put a smile on their faces, to give them a thrill or two. It was a beautiful vision. The family was said to have received a settlement of nearly $20million, local media reported in May 2017. To get the project going, a real estate investment trust offered to loan the Henrys $174.3 million. Christian Wallace writes about West Texas, oil and gas, music, cowboys, history, and history-making Texans. The hoop sliced into his neck, and he was instantly decapitated. The two men were approached by producers from the Travel Channel who said they were looking for an episode to lead off the new season of their popular TV series, This was news to everyone, even at Schlitterbahn. I want to be the first at the bar to buy a drink, and I want to be the first to meet a pretty girl, and I want to be the first at everything. His head and body flew out of the raft and landed on the chute. But with cameras still rolling, more sandbag-laden rafts continued to fly into the air. When he was in meetings, he pulled off his boots and propped his bare feet up on the table. If the completed ride still didnt meet his expectations, hed tear it down and start over. Caleb Schwab died on Aug. 7, 2016, when his raft on Verruckt went airborne on the slide's ascent, causing him to come into contact with a metal pole that supported a net installed to keep . ET. There are so many questions remaining about the rides construction. Families poured through the gates. Schlitterbahn, meanwhile, is reeling. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. Caleb was a brown-eyed boy, his nose dotted with freckles. Courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts. Verrckt ( German meaning "crazy" or "insane", listen) was a water slide located at the Schlitterbahn Kansas City water park in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. The deal was announced in 2005, but because of a drawn-out construction process, as well as the economic downturn of 2008, the venture had to be scaled back significantly, with no hotels, no homes, and little retail. "And he said, "Yes, your son is dead'. Something more has to be done. The plans would eventually call for hotels, rental cabins, hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail outlets, and a residential area surrounding the park. What could be better? It was a matter of pride.. Leafing through a newspaper, Billye spotted an ad for a property called Camp Landa, a modest thirteen-acre campground with some sagging frame cabins that was for sale in the Hill Country town of New Braunfels, thirty miles north of San Antonio and fifty miles south of Austin. It was. Senator's son, 10, was 'decapitated when he was thrown through raft harness and into safety net before plunging 50ft down the world's tallest waterslide'. I could die going down this ride., Jeff told me later that he was making such statements only at the behest of the TV producers. "The death of [Caleb Schwab] appeared at first to be an isolated and unforeseeable incident until whistleblowers from within Schlitterbahn's own ranks came forward and revealed that Schlitterbahn officials had . Its sort of beautiful, isnt it? she said. For Schlitterbahns second season, Jeff added a 50,000-square-foot pool and an inner tube ride that he named the Hillside Tube Chute. The camp sat next to the spring-fed Comal River, which gently meanders two and a half miles through New Braunfels before merging with the Guadalupe River. He told one reporter that Verrckt was an erotic piece of art and would go down in history as the most terrifying ride ever built in a water park. He told another reporter that he had conceived of Verrckt because he could no longer tolerate the thought of the worlds tallest slide being in Brazil. Still, neither Jeff nor his siblings offered any public explanation for what had happened. Since then, several witnesses have recalled the tragedy, but now the boy's father is breaking his silence. Carolyn Wasilewski was a 14 year old girl who was found dead on the train tracks in Baltimore, Maryland. It was surreal. 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