Horrifying final moments of boy, 10, decapitated on world’s tallest water slide | World | News

Young Caleb Schwab was just 10 years old when his life was cut tragically short under heartbreaking circumstances.

The teenager was spending a day at the water park when the disaster occurred. Like countless adventurers before him, he had no idea as he climbed onto a water raft that these would be his last moments alive.

Caleb was riding the world’s tallest water slide at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City when his head was cut off in the air in a freak accident. The slide, called Verruckt, which means “crazy” in German, featured multi-person rafts falling a whopping 50 meters at speeds up to 70 miles per hour, followed by an ascent up a hill and a 15-metre descent into the pool.

When the raft went airborne during the second hill climb at the water park, Caleb collided with a metal support beam in the net, resulting in his decapitation. The young boy died at the attraction in 2016, just two years after its opening.

“Six of them went to the park and five came back,” said Caleb’s heartbroken father, who was then a US politician. Scott and Michelle Schwab, who took their four sons to the water park, recalled the final moments before Caleb and his 12-year-old brother Nathan climbed to the top of the 50-foot slide.

“Before they set off, I said, ‘Brothers stand together,’ and [Caleb] “He said, ‘I know, Dad,'” Scott recalled. Nathan was the first person down the slide and was waiting for Caleb below.

“[Nathan] “He was screaming, ‘He flew from Verrückt, he flew with Verrückt,'” Caleb’s mother, Michelle Schwab, said. Despite her desperate efforts to reach the scene, a man blocked her way.

Scott described his disbelief. “I just need to hear you say that. Is my son dead?” he remembered asking someone.

“And he said, ‘Yes, your son is dead.’ It was surreal. “I don’t even remember coming home.”

Two passengers sharing the raft, both women, were also injured in the incident; One suffered a broken jaw and the other suffered a facial bone fracture that required stitches. Caleb, weighing 34 kg, was at the front of the raft when it took off.

The two women weighed 125 kg and 89 kg respectively, causing an uneven weight distribution on the raft. The total weight was 248 kg, which was below the recommended weight of 250 kg.

Riders, who must be at least 54 inches tall, are secured with two nylon seatbelt-like straps, one crossing the driver’s lap and the other running diagonally, similar to a car’s shoulder seat belt. Each strap is secured with long Velcro style straps, not buckles.

Riders grasp the ropes inside the raft. The incident sparked widespread concern about the lack of safety regulations in the US state.

Evaluating the attraction, engineers noted that the network of vehicles used in areas where participants could reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour “created its own danger because a driver traveling at high speeds could easily lose a limb if struck.” However, the ride’s designer, Jeff Henry, remained determined to build “the world’s fastest, tallest water slide” despite having no engineering qualifications.

Bob’s son Jeff, one of the founders of the water park franchise, was instrumental in the creation of the water slides. According to colleagues who worked with him, Jeff was renowned for his unwavering belief that he was “always right” and his determination to set the record straight with his quirks.

A park employee at the time of the incident claimed: “There was a lack of training for the employees operating the rides. The only inspection we had was people going down the slides once and saying ‘no problem, you’re good to go for the rest of the day’.”

Documentary footage of The Water Slide has revealed that a raft was blown up during preliminary trials of the attraction.

In one episode, Jeff is heard commenting: “He fell backwards and destroyed all the sandbags in him.”

Despite safety concerns that caused its launch to be postponed, the attraction finally welcomed visitors on July 10, 2014.

The completed design saw the rafts reach speeds of 70 mph and rise to an impressive height of 168 feet 7 inches.

Following the tragedy, Caleb’s father Scott spoke to parliamentary colleagues about his son’s fatal crash and campaigned for legal reform to allow Schlitterbahn to carry out its own driving safety inspections.

In November 2016, Schlitterbahn announced that Verrückt would be demolished following the completion of criminal proceedings.

The Schwab family reached a deal worth approximately $20 million in early 2017 with multiple parties, including Schlitterbahn.

Settlement details for the other two losses remained confidential.

The family is now trying to move forward while honoring Caleb’s legacy.

“There are times when you think, ‘I can’t look at this,’ and there are times when you can’t sleep and you want to look at it,” Scott said of Caleb’s archived footage.

Michelle revealed the family’s deep longing for Caleb, especially for his arms.

“Holding him,” she expressed, “hearing about his day, watching him play football, so many things.”

On March 23, 2018, a grand jury indicted former operations manager Schlitterbahn and Tyler Austin Miles on charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery, gross endangerment of children and interference with law enforcement. The indictment accused the park of negligence, concealing design flaws and downplaying the severity of previous injuries reported on the ride.

The report also stated that Jeff Henry and John Schooley “lacked the technical expertise to design a properly functioning water slide” and failed to carry out standard engineering procedures or calculations regarding the slide’s operation.

However, on February 22, 2019, the charges against Henry and Schooley were dropped due to inadmissible evidence presented to the grand jury. Although the park continues to operate, it is now under new management.