Jeff came up with an artificial river that he called the Torrent River, where large waves unexpectedly rose and broke around the tubers. Industry insiders said the Kansas City Schlitterbahn needed a joltsomething big, really bigthat would help it live up to the early hype and investment. He sold his technology for slides and river systems to the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas and to the Palm in Dubai. KANSAS CITY, Kansas, United States The 10-year-old boy killed during a ride on the world's tallest waterslide was decapitated in the accident, a person familiar with the investigation said Wednesday. Miles, then the operations director, hid or destroyed documents detailing injuries sustained by riders . Aug. 18 2016, Updated 8:24 a.m. He later added another water coaster, the Master Blaster, that was six stories tall and filled with thrilling hairpin turns. Caleb Thomas Schwab, . 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 . But watch as the video stops at the end, before the duo goes airborne. Within a few seconds, the raft reached the bottom of the hill and swooped up the second, 55-foot hill. Whats more, according to court documents, the investigators learned that on July 3, 2014, one week before the rides grand opening, an engineering firm hired by Jeff and Schooley to perform accelerometer tests on Verrckts rafts had issued a report suggesting that if the combined weight of the three passengers in a raft was between 400 and 550 poundsthe weight Jeff and Schooley had agreed was appropriatethere was a chance the raft would go airborne on the second hill. The ride quickly became the parks most popular attraction. Around this time he noticed that some of the people going down his fathers slides were hitting the water too hard. They both suffered minor cuts and scrapes on their face in the incident. Even those werent enough to save 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, who was decapitated. At the end of the service, Calebs father asked the boys to gather at the front of the church and do a final huddle in honor of his son. Caleb is 10-year-old boy from Olathe, Kansas. As his raft passed the second hump, it soared up the ridge, causing the metal support of the netting to break off and decapitate him. Magazines, Capture a Year of Painand Resiliencein Ukraine, Or create a free account to access more articles, What We Know About the Young Boy Decapitated on the World's Tallest Water Slide. 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. It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes . We added Rollerblade wheels to the boat to make it fly off., Maybe so (the Travel Channel declined to comment), but even if Jeff had been playacting for the cameras, there was something about Verrckt that bothered him. Verrckt claimed the life of Kansas state representative Scott Schwab's 10-year-old son Caleb on August 7, 2016. If you see a couple of people [go down the slide], you say its survivable, Schooley later told a reporter. When he was in meetings, he pulled off his boots and propped his bare feet up on the table. Christian Wallace writes about West Texas, oil and gas, music, cowboys, history, and history-making Texans. At Calebs funeral at the LifeMission Church in Olathe, five days after his death, the grief among the mourners was overwhelming. All that came from Schlitterbahn was a statement from company spokesperson Winter Prosapio, who said, We honestly dont know what happened. She added that Schlitterbahn was deeply and intensely saddened for the Schwab family and all who were impacted by the tragic accident., Kansas City reporters began digging. Some of his baseball teammates sat in the front row, wearing their jerseys. To get even more ideas, he pored over the history of Roman aqueducts and leafed through Jules Verne novels. For instance, eleven Schlitterbahn customers said they had been injured on Verrckt between August 31, 2014, and August 5, 2016 (two days before Calebs death). The Verrckt slide in Kansas is billed as the world's tallest water slide. Something more has to be done. A source familiar with the investigation into the boy's death told the Associated Press that Caleb was decapitated. Carolyn Wasilewski was a 14 year old girl who was found dead on the train tracks in Baltimore, Maryland. | (Photo: Facebook) The Christian family of Republican Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab attended a worship service just hours before the lawmaker's 10-year-old son, Caleb, was decapitated on the Verrckt slide at the Schlitterbahn Table of contents what happened to caleb schwab kansas city? Schlitterbahn was entering the big leagues of American entertainment. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Court documents stated that a team of experts who inspected the slide after Caleb's death found physical evidence that indicated that other rafts had gone airborne and collided with the overhead hoops and netting before the fatality". 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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. The Schwab family may also file a personal injury claim on behalf of Caleb. When the slide opened to the public, in July 2014, riders reviews were a publicists dream. 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. You really dont know.. Meanwhile, sifting through Verrckts maintenancereports, other investigators concluded that Miles had avoided or delayed making repairs that would have taken the ride out of commission. The two adult women with Caleb were severely injured in the incident. So he invented what he described as a water brake, a dip at the end of the slide that slowed the guests down. Schlitterbahn initially seemed to be policing itself just fine. Some new details in the Caleb Schwab death are emerging with a witness giving her account of how the 10-year-old boy was killed on a water slide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas on Sunday. Texas law, for instance, says that a park must obtain a $1 million liability policy for each of its rides and must have all rides inspected once a year by an inspector hired by the insurance company. For nearly a decade, Jeff and Schooley had been working on what they called a cannon nozzle: a highly pressurized water nozzle, much more advanced than the ones used in the Dragon Blaster and Master Blaster, that would propel riders up higher hills. . In 2016, An accident that could have been prevented happened in Schlitterbahn which caused the death of a 10-year-old boy; Caleb Schwab Sunday, the son of Scott Schwab, Kansas Representative. That would be like someone being concerned that Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg doesnt have a college degree, his brother told me. 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.. Police confirmed to TIME on Tuesday that the boy was decapitated in the accident. Eyewitness Melanie Gocke had told CNN : "I heard the noise, and I looked over immediately, and I saw his broken neck and him sliding down the slide leaving a blood trail.". Authorities have yet to explain how it happened. Courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts. 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. I was so happy that Schlitterbahn hired me that I didn't think anything about the tragic accident on the Verrckt water coaster the previous year. 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. Those who reached him first "just realised he was dead and didn't try to revive him", she added. 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. As investigators were looking into the death of the boy, Caleb Schwab, in August 2016, Mr. I was hired as an admissions cashiertaking payment and . Until it went horribly wrong. The witness, Esteban Castaneda, said he heard booms before seeing the boy wash down the slide after the raft. The slide would become the talk of the amusement park industry, he said. No one seemed to know, not even Jeff. 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.. (One rider reported that her head had slammed into the headrest and she sustained a concussion when her raft entered the runout pool at a high speed.) His head and body flew out of the raft and landed on the chute. (Under the headline The making of Schlitterbahns Verrckt water slide: Too much, too fast? a Kansas City Star article concluded that the ultimate safety of [Verrckt] mostly began and ended with those inspired to build it.) The reporters quoted former Verrckt riders who said their shoulder straps had busted loose or that their rafts had caught air. Caleb's family received nearly $20 million . After high school, Jeff opened a video arcade bar in San Marcos that he called the Too Bitter Bar, the walls of which contained painted murals of moons, watermelons, lips, and bananas. His head and body flew out of the raft and landed on the chute." Jesus. It was a matter of pride.. During his senior year, the school superintendent went to his father and said, Bob, I have to be honest. This past spring, Kansas City prosecutors began meeting with a grand jury, and in late March, the jury issued indictments. However, after a redesign and more tests, Henry said the ride, although still dangerous, was safe: its a safe dangerous now.. Police launched an investigation. . Bob loved the idea of a water park. Followed by a camera crew from Xtreme Waterparks, Jeff and Schooley loaded a raft with sandbags and sent it down the slide. Although Jeff and Schooley said they used engineers and architects to help them design Verrckt, they also continued to depend on traditional trial and error. A light breeze rattled the leaves. It is a seriously dangerous piece of equipment today because there are things that we dont know about it, he said at one point. I watched some other kids at a picnic table happily downing ice cream. 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. Onlookers prevented Calebs mother from witnessing the scene. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. 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 Xtreme Waterparks. Witnesses claimed he went down the first drop, then flew out and hit netting enclosing the ride. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Jamie Lee Curtis upsets Angela Bassett at SAG Awards, Two FL beaches make Tripadvisors best of the best, Buffalo Wild Wings manager stole $72,000 from work:, Win $1M a year for life with new FL Lottery game, Where to find fish fries in Tampa Bay during Lent, Worlds largest bounce house coming to Tampa. It broke the Guinness World Record for tallest water slide. When he wasnt working on Schlitterbahn rides, Jeff exported his inventions around the world. You could be in his presence for thirty minutes and leave disliking him immensely, a water park consultant who worked with him told me. Where to park for free at Clearwater Beach? Reporters from the San Antonio Express-News also revealed that in September 2013, Jeffs second wife, Louise Settree, had claimed in divorce papers that he had assaulted, battered, beat and tormented her during their nearly five-year marriage and that his use of alcohol and drugs had contributed to the horrific assaults. His treatment of her, Settree claimed, was so extreme in degree . Was the wind a factor? She said: "He was screaming: 'He flew from Verruckt! (The same netting system had been placed on Schlitterbahns Master Blaster rides.) Jeff was wearing cowboy boots. On their first attempt, the cannon nozzle misfired, and the raft never made it up the five-story hill: it slid back down to the bottom. That boat looked like it flew.. Due to the uneven weight distribution, their raft went airborne which impacted the . Jeff, Schooley, and Schlitterbahns New Braunfelsbased construction company, Henry & Sons Construction, were charged with aggravated battery, aggravated child endangerment, and second-degree murder, a much more significant charge than manslaughter that could result in sentences for Jeff and Schooley ranging from 9 to 41 years in prison, along with a $300,000 maximum fine per man. The State of Kansas also agreed to throw in an estimated $200 million in sales tax revenue bonds. WHEN Caleb Schwab climbed aboard the world's highest waterslide on August 7, 2016, the 10-year-old could never have known how much danger he was in. Today is the fifth anniversary of the traumatic death. 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. Witness Kelsey Friedrichsen said she was about to ride the waterslide when she saw emergency responders below covering the boy and attending to the two injured. So many Schlitterbahn customers wanted to go down the ride that park officials began requiring them to sign up for time slots. He devised a complicated artificial river system that moved tubers from one major slide to the next so they would rarely need to leave the water to stand in line. 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, was decapitated Sunday on the Verrckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City. A humid breeze presses down on the dead summer grass. By then, developers from around the country who also wanted a Schlitterbahn were regularly approaching the Henry family with proposals. EPR Properties, the real estate investment trust in Kansas City that loaned Schlitterbahn $174 million for its Kansas park, has warned its investors that the criminal indictments could hurt Schlitterbahns chances of repaying its loan, which might force EPR to foreclose on the park, along with the parks in New Braunfels and South Padre Island, which had been put up as collateral for the loan. According to Wikipedia, Caleb Schwab's cause of death was internal decapitation. The safety harnesses are also raising questions. 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. But at least one of the men was clearly nervous. A boy who was decapitated on a water slide is remembered five years on as witness accounts resurface about the mum having to be held back from seeing the horrific scene. By 2017, attorneys for Schlitterbahn were meeting with the Schwab familys attorneys. 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. [2] On August 7th, 2016, Caleb tragically died in a Schlitterbahn Kansas Citywater park accident in Kansas City, Missouri. Read more about other injuries at Schlitterbahn in Kansas here. He always thought he was right., Yet Jeff made no apologies. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. If I really believed I was responsible for the death of that little boy, Id kill myself right now, he said. He said he wanted to raise their three children in a small town, just as he had been raised. Suddenly, it was hurtling downward: it must have felt to Caleb as if hed fallen off a skyscraper. I was hoping to meet Jeff, but he was still staying to himself. The idea for Verrckt came from 63-year-old Jeff Henry, who co-owned the Schlitterbahn parks with his older brother, Gary, and younger sister, Jana, and acted as the companys chief visionary, a conjurer of splashy joyrides. He had the ability to see what other people were doing and then take that to the next level, Gary told me. He returned to Texas and met with Gary and Jana. Were not sure how to handle Jeff. According to family legend, the superintendent then handed Bob a diploma. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital As they watched one raft crest the hill, Jeff turned to Schooley and said, Man, are they hitting that net up there? He would later attend the University of Texas and major in accounting. Those were added later. Even those weren't enough to save 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, who was decapitated. 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 world's tallest waterslide,. Its scheduled opening back in 2014 was delayed reportedly due to alarming complications including one that saw water rafts detach from the slide and fly off into the air. But it didn't, so I worked there. Some Bahnophiles spend every summer weekend, or even entire vacations, at a Schlitterbahn. What happened. Scott and Michelle Schwab have spoken out for the first time about the tragic death of their son Caleb. Another witness, who had gone down the slide earlier that day, noted that his cousins 14-year-old daughter, who was in the raft with him, complained that the Velcro on her safety belt had come undone, reports ABC 7 News. But prosecutors for the Kansas attorney generals office persuaded a judge to lock down the ride. Date: Today, 02:00:07 AM EDT. They had no immediate plans to build a ride using the cannon nozzle, and certainly had no plans to build it in Kansas City, until Jeff made his pronouncement to the Travel Channel producers. I recently drove to the original Schlitterbahn, in New Braunfels. Aug. 8 2016, Updated 5:55 p.m. There are members of my family who would like to commit me to a facility because Im suffering from depression. 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 tragedy. The case is being investigated as a civil rather than criminal matter, yet details are vague and authorities have disclosed little information about what caused the tragic accident. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. Despite all his success, Jeff remained, at heart, a river rat. Behind him were two young womenone 32 years old and the other 25sisters who lived near the Kansas-Nebraska state line. "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 . Republican lawmaker Scott Schwab's son Caleb died on the Verruckt attraction, which means "insane" in German, and has been certified as the world's tallest water slide by Guinness World Records. Gary and Jana agreed that Jeff should proceed with Verrckt. The people that have a spark of genius dont necessarily need college. He was found dead at the . It still wasnt working, he said. Bob, Billye, and the kidsGary, Jeff, and Janapiled into the familys Ford station wagon and drove to the Landa to give it a look. What happened to Caleb Schwab is a tragic and heartbreaking story. An investigator spoke to a seventeen-year-old lifeguard who said that Miles had ordered him to write a report that downplayed the severity of the Groves incident. It details the possibilities of what could potentially happen on the ride known as the Verruckt a German word meaning insane or crazy. Caleb Schwab, the son of a state lawmaker, sustained a fatal neck injury at around 2:30 p.m. while riding the 168-foot-tall Verruckt (meaning insane in German) water slide, the Associated Press reports. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. We stood on the bank of the Comal, where Jeff used to go swimming, and we ambled over to the first tube chutes that Jeff designed and built when he was a young man. I think they need to fix the jostling around like your neck gets pretty (shaken)around like really good and you hit your head a lot, a witness said. How is that possible?, Jeff said that soon after Verrckt was up and running, he had left Kansas City to do some work on a Schlitterbahn park in Corpus Christi, which had opened in 2014, and he had never gone back. Caleb was 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 72 pounds. Billye ran the cafe, and Gary, Jeff, and Jana did odd jobs: sweeping out the cabins, mowing the grass, laying brick, shingling, and grouting. Schwab was elected Kansas secretary of state in November. The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools, West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians. Its sort of beautiful, isnt it? she said. They would have to study such factors as the effect of water friction and even wind velocity on the rafts. . But the first time, you dont know. Had there been a problem with the distribution of the three passengers weight that caused the raft to lift off into the air? Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. 2014 was the opening year for the slide, which was the tallest in the world. Over the next several days, more Schlitterbahn employees rode Verrckt without problems, and on July 10, after thirty months of work, the slide opened to the public. One is a line from John 3:16. That would entitle the family to no more than $300,000 in additional non-economic damages, bringing recovery up to . Tell Jeff were going to let him graduate so that he no longer has to come back to school.. That responsibility lies entirely with the states. Then, on August 7, 2016, Caleb Schwab and his family arrived at the park. The Kanas . Courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts; Retouching: Will Herwig, AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Jill Toyoshiba, A half century earlier, in 1966, a Houston accountant named Bob Henry told. It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes . A 10-YEAR-old boy was decapitated while riding a water slide in front of his horrified mom and brother in one of the US' worst theme park tragedies. Jess Stanford and Melanie Gocke were at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, on the same day a ten-year-old boy was killed on the 17-storey ride last week. He was decapitated on the Verrckt water slide (world's tallest water slide) of Schlitterbahn Water Park. A Kansas judge dropped charges Friday against the owners of the world's tallest waterslide after a child was decapitated on it, local media reported.. Caleb Schwab was just 10 years old when he was killed while riding the 168-foot-tall "Verrckt" slide in Kansas City's Schlitterbahn water park in 2016.. Caleb, the son of Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, was decapitated after his raft . One is a line from John 3:16. Jeffs job was to fill the park with new attractions, and he didnt disappoint. It looked like he must have somehow been ejected from his seat, bounced around between the netting and the slide and just slid down, she told PEOPLE. 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